The Lone Rose
by Nightwish14
Summary: Antoinette Deveraux is an English girl who moved to Beacon Hills to start her life over, all she wants is to go through her life without anymore ordeals like before she moved, but life has a different path intended for her. Especially when she gets mixed up with Scott and his friends, a new world where she soon learns that her coming to Beacon Hills was not a coincidence either...
1. Beginnings

**A/N: Hello one and all, it has been a very long time since I have posted any fanfiction and I'm sorry to say it's because I have been incredibly busy with my personal life, reality huh? Burn it amirite? During my absence I have watched many a tv series and here is one of which I watched. Time for a new more mature set of fiction. Enjoy my darlings.**

 **(A little problem trying to upload the cover art but never fear I shall get it sorted)**

Scott and Stiles sat at a lunch table waiting for the others, the canteen like usual was packed and everyone went to their self-assigned seats like most students did in everything. Like a hierarchy of lunchtime popularity, or unpopularity for some students. Malia sat next to Stiles and smiled at him; such strange circumstances when their relationship first begun, thank god the Nogitsune was gone.

Malia glanced over to see the new girl sit on another table in the far corner of the canteen all by herself, and there was no denying that the darkness around her right eye was a bruise. Not many people spoke to this new girl and clearly did not like her.

"What're you looking at?" Stiles asked also glancing over.

"The new girl with the funny accent, she has a black eye. Rumour has it she got into a fight; I guess the rumours are true."

"That's the second one this week, people really don't like her" replied Stiles.

Scott also looked over at the new girl. "I don't think she has any friends either, perhaps we should-"

"You called us here, what's up?" Lydia interrupted as she sat down with her tray. She made sure that the way she sat would not disturb the pleats on her dress the way they were intended.

"Well, on the wolf radar network, there is another alpha in town looking for trouble, for want of a better word" said Stiles.

"And of course there's someone who wants to kill the alpha and take his status" added Scott.

"If that person's initials are P and H, I will not be surprised" said Stiles.

Malia sighed. "You are correct, it is Peter."

"Perhaps we should talk to Derek about this, Peter is his uncle after all" added Lydia.

"Already spoken to him, he's aware of the situation and is doing what he can to keep his uncle away; but we all know what Peter is like and he won't be stopped for long" said Scott. "Best thing to do, is to find the alpha ourselves before anything gets out of hand and convince him to leave."

Everyone nodded in agreement, tonight was the full moon and wolves, if they could control themselves, would be out looking for others like them. This would be the best way to find that alpha, they all remembered what a pain Peter was when he was an alpha, if there was another one wanting to create havoc then they needed to stop it as soon as possible.

The pack stood up, beginning to head to lessons and Malia looked back to see two students block the path of the new girl; right before they shoved her out of the way. Malia wanted to stop and go back, make sure the new girl was okay or make sure the two students apologise for what they did, it wasn't fair how they treated her. As far as Malia could see, the new girl had done nothing to provoke them and it made Malia angry to think that people would pick on that poor girl for no reason at all. But alas, she did nothing for Stile was ushering her out of the canteen and the moment had passed making Malia feel a twang of guilt in her gut.

Later that day, after school when the sun was beginning to go down; the pack gathered in Derek's loft. His loft was the usual dusty and dull looking empty building on the bad part of town; this did not seem to bother Derek because he preferred to be alone anyway. To him, although the building was an eyesore, his loft was cosy and comfortable looking and the large arching windows that took up an entire wall had an amazing view of the town. To be honest he didn't care what anyone thought of his home, it wasn't theirs; it was his.

When Derek had been notified of the issue at hand, unfortunately his uncle had already gone missing which caused a host of problems. Derek leant against a table listening to Scott who was suggesting splitting the pack into two groups, one to find the alpha, the other to find Peter. However Isaac disagreed with this and said all should be focussed on the alpha. After all, where the alpha would be, Peter would soon follow and it would be pointless of them to go out and find him when he would come to them. They could deal with him then, but even that meant two separate things to deal with at the same time.

"Leave my uncle to me, I can handle him myself, you all need to sort out the real threat" said Derek.

"I still believe we should try to talk to the alpha first, perhaps try to convince him to leave peacefully" offered Scott.

"That would be great for us but bad for another town, so he leaves Beacon Hills but then goes elsewhere to cause chaos; we need to stop him completely" said Stiles.

"I agree with Stiles" said Malia. "We can't risk anyone else in danger because of him."

Derek who had been relatively quiet spoke up. "If we let him live then Peter will only go and track him down and kill him anyway. I'm sorry Scott, but we don't want my uncle to become an alpha, we have no choice this is the only way."

Scott looked disappointed but he knew they were right, as much as he really didn't want to kill anyone, it had to be done.

They headed out, some cramming into Stile's Jeep, the rest into Derek's car. Driving to the location they agreed on, they had to wait until the full moon was completely up. The clearing in the woods where the Nemeton was sat in the middle, was the best area for this to go down; it was far enough away from town and fairly secluded for anyone to get hurt. Being back here made the pack uncomfortable; a lot of wrongs had been caused because of that supernatural tree stump and a lot of deaths too.

The pack gathered around the tree stump all exchanging glances to one another. Scott looked up at the full moon, the glowing orb in the glittered sky was white hot; it was now or never. Wolves signal their whereabouts to the pack by howling, so Scott assumed that if he howled then it would draw the alpha to their location. Scott breathed in deeply and paused before letting out a bellowing howl that echoed out over the trees and through town, everyone would have heard it, so certainly Peter and the alpha. Now all they had to do was wait and stay on the lookout.

It took longer than expected, in fact it took so long that some of them like Isaac and Lydia sat down; no one expected this to happen and they were beginning to get ready to give up. But then Scott shot up and looked over along the tree line, two glowing red eyes watched them and a large figure emerged. He looked strong and threatening, his claws were sharp and they looked like one swipe could cut a man in half. The alpha advanced towards Scott and his pack causing them all to get ready for a fight.

Out of nowhere, Peter came sprinting out of the woods and dived onto the alpha causing them both to go down. Derek sprang into action and dragged Peter off of the alpha.

"Scott, Go!" he shouted as he continued to fend off Peter.

Scott nodded as Isaac went over to help Derek.

"Lydia, scream" said Stiles as the alpha stood up and batted Scott into a tree.

Lydia walked a little closer but was careful to keep her distance, she inhaled deeply and let out an ear-piercing scream while pushing her hands forward at the same time; causing a shockwave to send the alpha flying back. That was when Malia pounced while it was still in a stunned state, she clawed at his chest turning the skin to ribbons; the alpha swung his arms around but Scott was there snapping it backwards. Meanwhile Peter bit into Isaac's arms and while he was reeling, Peter pulled away from Derek and leapt back onto the alpha.

"Someone, help me" shouted Scott as he tried to haul Peter off again.

Malia and Isaac joined him in keeping Peter away from the alpha; Lydia screamed again knocking back the alpha. In a fit of rage the alpha charged towards her, Stile shot from his position and pushed her out of the way as he took the brunt of the charge.

"Stiles!" cried Malia worriedly; three of them still desperately trying to pin Peter down.

"Derek" called Scott. "You need to finish this!"

Derek looked at him anxiously. "If I kill him, I'll become the alpha."

"I know; do it."

Derek nodded and his eyes turned a glowing blue as he fought with the alpha who snarled at him like a wild animal. His fist pounded into the alpha, not letting up and when it was too dazed to do anything, Derek kicked it down. Standing over the alpha, Derek sliced across its chest and stabbed his heart, killing him instantly. Peter roared in frustration as Derek stepped away from the corpse and turned around, his eyes now radiating red. Scott let go of peter who stormed off; Stiles was helped up by Malia who checked him over for any injuries but he appeared relatively okay.

A little while later they all stood around a bonfire as the alpha's corpse became ash.

"He will try to kill me, you know" said Derek to Scott who was standing next to him.

"I know, don't worry we won't let that happen."

"Being an alpha didn't work out too well for me last time."

"This time will be different, I spoke to Isaac and he agreed to join with you to keep you both strong enough to defend yourself if your uncle tries anything" Scott turned to him. "One thing though, if you must turn others, can we all discuss it first?"

Derek nodded and left them there to walk off into the darkness. Stiles guessed he was going to go to his family's old house to be the broody wolf he was.


	2. Antoinette

**A/N: Only a short chapter this one, just to introduce my OC, pre-warning this chapter may contain possible triggers to do with cancer, death and there is mention of war. Leave me a review, let me know what you think.**

Antoinette Deveraux was from London, England and was the only English student at Beacon Hills. She had moved there after her father had died- the last member of her family left alive; her mother died in childbirth with her little brother. Who in return contracted leukaemia when he was five years old and died after a long battle. After being told her father died in action during a special ops mission, she had no ties to England anymore; it had only given her loss and heartbreak.

Thus she moved to America to start fresh after inheriting everything. She sold it all, apart from a few choice pieces that were too sentimental to give up and bought herself a pokey little flat where she lived alone, she was seventeen and lost so much already, looking after herself. She refused to go into the care system, she had practically been looking after herself back in England, now was no different.

Many people did not like Antoinette, she was peculiar for a teenager and it scared a lot of people because they didn't understand her. She looked odd, her hair was long but dyed precious silver with her natural black roots beginning to come through, her eyes were a vibrant green with flecks of blue around the pupil. Her figure was slender with a tiny waist and her skin was so pale it looked like porcelain. There was one feature though that added to the mystery of this stranger and that was the red rose tattoo that took up a majority of the back of her left hand; the delicate green leaf curling around her little finger ever so slightly.

She didn't really speak to people and kept to herself, when she did speak; her thick English accent would always confuse people. Here she was, in a foreign country, by herself trying desperately to start her life again.

If she knew that her life would never be like the peaceful life she had in London, or that a host of pain, suffering, heartache and trouble would come her way, maybe she would have changed her mind. But perhaps, she would not have changed her mind for the world…


	3. Close Encounter

**A/N: Hello all! Chapter 3 is here, again relatively short because I am mostly focusing on character development than actual solid story but never fear for all in good time, everything shall link. As Tim Burton once said "Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end, not necessarily in that order". Some of you may think that I have spelt certain words wrong but I assure you they are correct spellings in England, so enjoy.**

Antoinette awoke from a deep sleep, she felt uneasy; the leftover feeling of her dream was disturbing and upon realising it was nearly two in the morning, she decided to go for a walk.

The woodland was her favourite place to go, she could think freely there; a sense of carelessness filled her and she welcomed it wholly. The darkness surrounded her and the stars rained down on her as the moon gave little light for her way. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, so as to slow her pulse to a resting rate. The wind wisped through the leaves on the trees creating a rustling that broke the silence, her silver hair whipped around her face but she did not care. Water trickling down a stream to one side, an owl hooting on the other; this was peace, this was her tranquillity. Walking on, she absorbed the sharpness of the early morning; the sun wouldn't be up for another few hours to dry out the smattering of dew.

Antoinette found herself standing outside a derelict house, barely standing with fire damage; she had no idea how she got there, she must have wandered further than she thought. Curiosity got the better of her and she strolled through the open door, it was darker in here than it was outside. She was introduced to the landing with doors to rooms on her left and right and a grand staircase in front of her. The floorboard creaked under her foot making her jump and she decided not to take the full step forward.

That was when she heard a low growl coming from the top of the first flight of stairs. Her breaths became shallow as she saw two red eyes to go with the growl. Her feet were planted, she couldn't move, she daren't move, she had no idea what this thing was. It appeared to be crouched down, but looked like it could be tall and broad if it stood up properly, still she could not move.

"What are you doing here?" the figure snapped.

Antoinette was too frantic and now confused to register what was happening.

"Get out!" it growled again.

Antoinette shot out of the house and did not stop running until she got out of the woods. On the walk home she tried to convince herself that what she saw was a trick of the dark, it was too difficult to see and her mind could have messed with her. She returned home and spent the rest of the night in a restless sleep.


	4. Her Own Hell

**A/N: This chapter and many of the next ones are going to contain sensitive topics around bullying so please be aware that these elements are in my writing, read at your own risk but please don't if it will upset or possibly trigger you.**

That day Antoinette walked through the gates of her hell, lessons did not start for another half hour and she was determined not to let the bullies get her down. Minding her own business, she headed to her locker and exchanged the books she needed for her first lesson. She glanced over at Isaac talking to Scott as she shut her locker, she wished she could go over there and talk to him; perhaps make her first friend. However, she had been conditioned by people that everyone could be hostile; the black eye she had covered up was proof of that and not wanting to risk further embarrassment she changed her mind.

"What are you staring at, freak?" asked Eliza, one of Antoinette's main bullies along with her lacrosse playing boyfriend Adam, who wasn't far behind.

"Nothing" Antoinette replied quickly.

" _Nothing_ " said Eliza mocking her accent.

"Could have sworn you were looking at Lahey over there" said Adam.

"No, I, I was-"

" _I, I, I._ Stop, four words English: out of your league" and with that the pair of them walked off.

"Maybe he prefers intellect over brainless Barbie dolls" snipped Antoinette.

Eliza stopped. "What did you say?" she stormed back over to Antoinette, a scene had been created now which caught the attention of Scott and Isaac. "I said: what did you say?!"

Eliza shoved Antoinette into the lockers and Antoinette dropped her bag threateningly, anger rising within her.

"Come on then!" she shouted.

Eliza laughed. "You've already got one black eye, let's not make-"

Antoinette's right hook caught Eliza in the mouth before she could finish her sentence, causing her to stumble back. Adam went around behind Antoinette and grabbed her arms to hold her in place, ignoring her struggle and flail. Eliza, who had recovered, punched Antoinette in the stomach, she doubled over with a groan, why did no one help her? Adam pulled her back up right and Antoinette found her opportunity and used the momentum to head butt him right in the nose which allowed her to get free. She returned Eliza's punch with a kick to her shins causing Eliza to scream. But it was Adam who finished the fight with a strong strike to her already injured eye, knocking her straight to the floor. Another kick to her from Eliza to make sure she was down and the pair of them left Antoinette there. The crowd dispersed, leaving only Scott and Isaac who went there to help her.

"I'm fine" she said defensively and pushed them away before running off to the bathroom.

"Who was that?" asked Isaac.

"The new girl from England" replied Scott.

"She's been here for months now, she's hardly new."

"Yeah well, people still bully her like she's one, none of them even spoken to her before, not even us."

"You ever feel guilty about that?"

"Honestly all the time." The bells rang for class and they both went their separate ways to head to lesson.

Lesson had already started when Antoinette stumbled in, she was holding a wet towel to her eye and sat down after apologising for her lateness.

"What's wrong with your eye?" the teacher asked.

Scott could see the puffiness of her other eye, she had been crying.

"Nothing, it's just a little red" she replied trying to ignore the daggers coming from Eliza.

"You can't work while holding that to your eye, put it down."

Antoinette hesitated before putting the wet towel down on her desk revealing an ugly black eye worse than before, darker and more tender; her eyeball actually bloodshot because of it.

"I think you should go to the school nurse" said the teacher.

"No, I'm alright, I've disturbed the lesson enough and I just want to get on with my work, please" Antoinette replied.

After that she kept her head down in her text book trying to avoid stares from classmates. Scott smelled blood but not coming from her eye, it was terribly bruised but there was not an open wound. He noted how she kept her right hand on her left arm and how she winced occasionally, he didn't like the conclusion he came to.

Lunch time came too soon for Antoinette who once again sat at her table alone and watched everyone. She spotted Scott and his friends laughing among themselves. ' _Such a mismatched group of friends_ ' she thought and then she felt envy; wishing she could join them. Her thoughts were interrupted by a boy called Mark who sat in front of her, instantly her barriers went up.

"You're the new girl right? The English one."

She nodded.

"My name is Mark, I've seen you around the school but always been too shy to say hello."

"Hi" she mumbled.

"I was wondering if you'd like to meet up after school, take a walk through the woods and get to know each other better, it seems you need that right now" he smiled to her.

After long internal contemplation, Antoinette agreed to the offer and she smiled slightly to herself, with a hint of excitement for the evening ahead.

Upon leaving the school that afternoon, Antoinette saw Scott and Isaac talking to a tall, dark haired individual who wore the same expression as grumpy cat.

"Is that her?" Derek asked Scott as he watched Antoinette walk by. "She was at the Hale House last night, I recognise the scent."

"What did you do?" Scott asked.

"I scared her off."

"Smooth" said Isaac sarcastically. "We want to help her, not scare her."

Derek rolled his eyes. "And how does this involve me?"

"You need a pack to be strong and she needs friends" said Scott.

"Friends is your thing, why didn't you make friends with her?"

"We are, we just thought we could kill two birds with one stone and be nice when you approach her this time, she's cautious enough as it is."

"Do you want me to turn her as well?"

"Only if she wants to" said Isaac. "She could do with being stronger in fights."

"Fights? Explains the black eye, I'll see what I can do" Derek replied and got back into his car to drive off.


	5. Red Means Danger

**A/N: How are you all enjoying the story so far? review me, I love reading them, I take constructive criticism and use it to improve my writing, tell me what you think.**

Antoinette looked at herself in the mirror, the simple white dress she wore made her eyes seem brighter and the thin black belt complimented her tiny waist. She finished covering up the scars on her arms with concealer and bandaged the fresh cuts, now she was ready.

Upon leaving her flat, she went to the meeting point and waited for Mark; just when she thought he stood her up, he arrived. She was very nervous and rightly so but she soon settled down. They started on their walk through the woods and she found herself having fun. It was when he put his hand on her back and led her a little off path that she felt herself miss a breath. She looked around at where he had led them and realised they were near the house she had found last night; she became suddenly uneasy.

"Can we go back?" she asked.

"I want to show you something" Mark replied and stepped away from her. "Then we can."

She nodded and waited.

That was when it happened, an entire can of scarlet paint dropped from the sky covering her head to toe. She screamed as she looked up to see a can connected to a piece of rope which someone had pulled to topple it over. Mark started laughing and taking pictures on his phone and Eliza and Adam came out of hiding laughing too.

"Why?" Antoinette cried in despair.

"Do you really think I'd be interested in you?" said Mark spitefully.

"That anyone would be?" Eliza added. "You're so gullible."

"No one wants you here, don't you get that?" said Adam.

"What have I ever done to you? Why can't you just leave me alone?" asked Antoinette close to tears.

Mark walked back up to her. "Go away English, go far, far away."

The water welled up in her eyes and trickled down her fade ruining what could be seen of her winged eyeliner. Spinning on her heels she ran off back the way they had come, leaving her tormentors to laugh about what happened.

Derek couldn't believe what he had just seen; he had been standing at a distance and had watched the scene play out. He had sensed people were there and went to investigate, upon finding the English girl Scott had told him about and another boy; he hoped he would find a chance to interact with her. He realised that kids can be cruel but he never thought they would go that far, Scott wasn't wrong, Antoinette needed help and he needed strength to fend off his uncle.


	6. Fall No Further

**A/N: This chapter is the foundation of this fanfiction, lots of feels in this chapter, warning there are sensitive subjects in this section but please leave me a review of what you thought of it and all the feels, put a ton of effort into this one, please review!**

The next day, Antoinette contemplated whether she should go into school or not, her air still smelt like paint stripper where she had spent hours that night trying to clean herself up; sadly the dress was ruined and had to be thrown away. Her eye was sore and she was incredibly tired, the only thing that made her walk down the road was the thought of her father and how he went to war. Whenever in a battle he wasn't a coward and he did not raise one either, Antoinette was not going to let a few people squander this.

However, once she arrived at the school everyone seemed to stare at her and make snide remarks or giggle to their friends. She was spectacularly confused, why was this happening? Once she reached her locker, she got the answer to her question. Hundreds of pictures that Mark had taken of her, had been thrown around the school for everyone to see, a large print even plastered to her actual locker itself. The ridicule was too much, that tore it, she couldn't take it anymore, quitting wasn't something she liked to do but now she was well and truly broken. Slamming her locker shut, she kept her head down and headed off down the corridor aimlessly while trying to avoid everyone and everything.

Locking herself in the girls' bathroom, she let herself break down; she let her back slide down the door until she reached a sitting position on the floor. She used to think that crying was a sign of someone who was weak but she realised it was the opposite, it was a sign of someone who had been strong for too long and needed to let it all out. Her distressed thoughts played tricks on her, disguised as comfort they coaxed her to draw more lines on her arm and wrist, her tears making the fresh cuts sting with bittersweet pain, only adding insult to injury.

Antoinette could not go on, she could not keep doing this, her mental health in tatters like a train wreck through her mind; her body becoming one, it was too much for someone to handle and too much to ask someone to handle. With her head in her hands, she listened to the voices parading as well wishers to put a stop to it all, low and behold the true well-wishers were silent and unspeaking; out of new ideas to continue it seemed.

When she took out her notepad and pen, she knew which decision she had made and it agonised her to think what her father would say to her; she would explain it all when she saw him again and then he would understand, she had no other way. Each word she wrote was like a bullet embedding itself into her heart, she could scarcely breathe, barely see through the water in her eyes, and it was unbearable. That rhyme about sticks and stones was a complete joke, as if emotional affliction was any less agonising than physical affliction; no, physical scars heal over time but mental ones and emotional ones last an eternity. This was the harsh truth and she didn't want to feel it anymore, so he would wait until the end of school to stop it.

Lessons went on all day like normal, the absence of Antoinette was raised but the lack of people caring or knowing where she was caused no discussion. It stumped Scott, who assumed no matter what that she would come in just like she always did; he wanted to talk to her and introduce her to the other, even stick up for her like he started to do by tearing down the god awful pictures being distributed. Matter of fact was, no one stood up for her before and deep down he felt that only just starting to would be classed as too late for her, if she would even accept it was the big question. He decided that if she wanted to be found she would, or perhaps she just was not going to face today; the only thing he could do right now is get through the day and see if anyone else had seen her.

During the queue for lunch, Scott asked Lydia what was going on.

"Apparently, the new girl was spotted coming through the corridor to her locker, saw the carnage that had been caused and then ran off, no one has seen her since" Lydia replied.

"Does anyone actually know her name?" asked Malia.

Then everyone stopped to think, because although they wanted to help her, it occurred to them that they did not know her name beyond the insults that were thrown at Antoinette and the sad fact is it wasn't only them that did not know but many, many others.

"I know it's French, or sounds French" said Stiles.

"Wait, she's English but has a French name" said Isaac confused.

"She may have French relations" offered Lydia.

They all went to sit down at their table and looked around, like usual, everyone was where they should be, or about to be except the table in the corner; Antoinette's table was empty, not a person there or any sign there would be.

Eliza and Adam however were sat with Mark still laughing at a video Adam had recorded of last night's "prank" and Isaac overheard them with his heightened hearing, talking about posting it online. Isaac had more reason than anyone to hate bullies, after all his father had been a massive one towards him and he guessed that is why he stood up and stormed over to their table to rectify the situation before more harm was done.

"Delete the video" he said sternly.

"What?" questioned Adam, a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"You heard me, delete it" Isaac repeated.

Adam scoffed. "Piss off Lahey."

Isaac shot his arm out and yanked Adam up to him and Scott stood up ready to intervene if necessary. Mark tried to pull Isaac off but Isaac just pushed him back down into his seat and ignored the hateful glare from Eliza.

"Delete the video now, Adam" he repeated.

"Make me" said Adam trying to foolishly assert his masculinity.

Isaac was all too happy to oblige, after shoving Adam back in his seat, he snatched up the phone and lobbed it against the wall causing it to smash into pieces. Blanking the threats coming from all three, Isaac went back to his friends and sat down to continue his lunch, thanks to him; Antoinette would fall no further than she already had.

The rest of the day went fairly smoothly, a majority of the pictures had been salvaged and thrown away, lessons carried on as normal but Antoinette remained missing until the bell rang for end of school.

Roughly ten to fifteen minutes after, when there were few people left in the school, Antoinette came out of hiding. She poked her head out of the door and looked both ways before dashing out blindly and bumped straight into Stiles, which caused her to drop a folded piece of paper; she quickly apologised and darted off down the corridor. Stiles bent down and picked up the paper and called after her but she ignored him, he wondered where she was going to in a hurry and what she had been doing in the store room all day. He decided to open the piece of paper to find out if it was important, he realised it was a note and read some of it; his face became grave and he fumbled for his phone to call Scott.

"Come on, come on, pick up. Scott! We've got a code red, buddy. Just bumped into the new girl, Antoinette, at least that's the name on this note."

 _"Stiles slow down, what note? What's going on?"_

"She's going to kill herself" cried Stiles frantically.

Scott looked over at Derek who was standing next to him outside the building. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty damn, she mentions a fall in the note, I'm heading to the roof now" with that, Stiles hung up and started running through the building.

"He's not going to make it in time" Derek said pointing to the roof. "Look."

Antoinette had just stepped up onto the low wall of the roof but made no other moves, it appeared like she was trying to gain courage for what she was about to do, or perhaps was having second thoughts. From where Scott stood, she seemed pretty confident in what she was about to do, he could hear the faint whisper of an apology and then it happened and he seemed to see it all in slow motion- powerless to do anything.

Stiles bounded up the stairs as fast as he could and burst through the door just as Antoinette let herself fall forward, her eyes closed.

"No!" he shouted and bolted to the edge.

There was fast movement on the ground and Stiles turned away not being able to watch, only hearing her falling scream. There was a thud, accompanied by a grunt and the cease of her scream but it was not the sickening kind of thud.

"Careful" said Derek who had caught Antoinette just in time. "Would hate to ruin the concrete."

She looked at him both thankful and resenting the fact he had helped her but mostly she was in shock and she could not even speak. He set her down but her jelly legs buckled from underneath her but he was there and grabbed her arm to hold her upright; that was when he noticed the rose tattoo on her hand and frowned.

Stiles had made his descent down and joined Scott who both walked over to where Derek and Antoinette were.

"How did you manage that?" asked Stiles out of breath.

"I started running when you hung up, I'm faster than you" said Derek.

"Are you okay?" asked Scott to Antoinette who could only nod. "I'm Scott, these are my friends, Stiles and Derek; we've been looking for you all day."

"Antoinette and why?" she found her voice.

"To do something we should have done from the start and make you a friend of ours, I understand if you feel it's too late."

"I'd love to" she said quickly. "I realised after I jumped that it's not what I wanted at all."

"We had no idea you were suffering this badly" said Stiles. "We're sorry."

"Thank you for stopping me and thank you for catching me."

"Just don't do it again" said Derek.

Scott gave him a look. "It's been a trying day for you, Stiles and I will take you home" he nodded to Derek as the three of them headed to Stiles' Jeep.

Antoinette went willingly and sat in the back, she watched Derek get into his car and drive off as they too left the carpark to take her back to her flat.

Alive and unscathed.


	7. The Truth

**A/N: Hello readers! I apologise that it has taken nearly a whole week to post this chapter but in between writing it I have had pesky college work getting in the way. For those of you who might get confused as to what "spikes" are, they are a pair of running shoes that have spikes on the sole used to get a better grip on the ground. Hope you enjoy and please leave me a review, I love hearing your thoughts!**

A new day arose and Antoinette got out of bed feeling confident for the day ahead and looked forward to seeing Scott and being introduced to the rest of his friends. As she stepped into the shower and stood under the water, a rogue thought popped into her mind. _'What if they're just the same as Mark? Tricking me like he did.'_ She shook the thought out of her head. _'Why bother going to all the trouble of stopping me from jumping if they're only going to be vindictive?'_ It did not make sense to her and all she could do was take it as it came, yesterday was her moment of weakness but today was a new day and she had a newly found strength within her.

The hot water from the shower splashed against her black eye giving a comfortably numbing painful sensation, it had healed a lot considering twice the damage was made. Turning off the shower, she stepped out and pulled a towel around herself; her wet hair clung to her scalp and after wiping the mirror of condensation, she saw how badly her hair needed re-dying. She stood in front of her open wardrobe and contemplated whether she should wear the clothes that made her who she was or continue wearing the clothes that hid her personality. _'Play it safe for now, you don't know what they're like yet.'_ She grabbed a pair of plain black jeans and pulled on a t-shirt with a wolf print on it, she dried her hair and wriggled into her hoodie and pulled the hood low over her head. One last look in the mirror. _'This is as good as I'm going to get'_ and then she grabbed her bag and left her flat.

During the walk to school, she got the unsettling feeling that she was being watched; so much so that she looked around but she could not see anything and put it down to paranoia. As she arrived at the school, she saw Stiles' jeep pull up and he half got out, half fell out but tried to make it look like he meant to do that; it made her giggle a little. Stiles spotted Antoinette and gave her a little wave as he walked over to her.

"How are you feeling this morning?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Better, but still cautious."

"You think we're going to do the same thing Mark did."

"Forgive me" her thick accent coming through. "But I don't have much else to go on."

"Hopefully after today, you'll change your mind" he gave her a reassuring smile.

Scott pulled up with Isaac on their bikes and removed their helmets as they joined Antoinette and Stiles. The usual small talk and greetings were exchanged and Antoinette was introduced to Isaac who gave her a warm smile. Not long after that, Lydia arrived with Malia and Antoinette was introduced to them too, they all seemed friendly enough. Antoinette told herself that she was being paranoid again and decided to give them a chance. They all started to head inside but she stopped at the door and looked back around, she had that feeling of being watched again.

"Hey, you coming?" asked Isaac snapping her out of it.

She nodded and went on with him to catch up with the others. People were staring at her, for a different reason to last time, it was confusion; probably to do with the fact just yesterday she was alone and then today she had an army of people with her. It made her smile inside. She went to her locker while the others went to theirs. History first, she liked that subject, her father once said that history is supposed to teach us lessons which we never learn and always make the mistakes over and over again. How true that was. She shut her locker and turned around to find Eliza right there, it made her jump.

"Where were you yesterday, English?" she asked spitefully.

Antoinette tried to walk by but Eliza blocked her path and pushed her back against the locker. "Please Eliza, not today" she said.

"Rumour has it you tried to attention seek and that's why you have a little group today, out of pity."

"I assure you Eliza, it's not out of pity" said Isaac from behind her.

Now it was Eliza's turn to jump and she turned around.

"Come on Antoinette, we're waiting for you" he held out his hand to her.

Antoinette took it and he pulled her away from Eliza to re-join the group, for this Antoinette was grateful. When the bell rang, she went with Scott and Stiles to the history classroom and took their seats. On the table in front of them was a blank family tree template, ready to be filled in. the teacher finished writing _'Family History Project'_ on the board and turned to the class.

"Today we are going to be starting a new project that you will be working on independently and in the class. You each will be researching your family history and finding out about your ancestors lives, who they were, what they did and so on. This will count towards your final grade so take it seriously; to start, there is a family tree on your table, fill it out as much as you can."

Antoinette looked down at the paper and felt her heart sink with a heavy isolation, she doubted many people had lost their entire family or be the last one alive. However she was keen to learn about her family history, her surname was old and rich with history and stories. She remembered her father telling her that their family did not originally originate from England and came over a couple of centuries ago, this is something she wanted to find out.

Her next period was P.E. and unlike the boys who usually trained for lacrosse, she had managed to convince Coach to let her run the woodland track instead, more like confuse him with her fast talking and accent. Tying up her spikes, she nodded to Scott, Stiles and Isaac before setting off on her cross country run. Much like the woods where she lived, she loved the run through this track and nearly every time she would take her time, to enjoy herself. Breathe in the scent of wild flowers and musk of woodland; this was her drug, her antidepressant and the best place to do her thinking because it gave her a clear head. Antoinette stopped, a little out of breath and looked up at the sun, the late morning heat beginning to set in making beads of sweat form on her pale skin. That's when she got the notion of being watched again but this time she could not push it down as irrational paranoia and ignore it, the hairs on the back of her neck and down her spine were standing on edge, she swallowed and looked around.

"I know there's someone there, come out" she said trying not to let her voice shake. She turned around to find Derek had stepped out from behind a tree looking at her with an emotionless expression. She let herself relax a bit considering it was someone she was acquainted with and the same someone who caught her from a fall.

"For someone with average sense, you sure pick up on the whole watching thing" he said.

"I'm just careful, have you been watching me all day? Why?"

"Some would say paranoid, to answer your questions I have and because I'm looking out for my interests."

"What are you on about?"

"A few nights ago, you were in Hale House."

"The house in the woods…" she looked confused. "Wait your name is- that was your house, how did you know I was there?" And then it dawned on her, the dark figure, the red eyes; she looked at him fearfully taking a couple of steps back, wanting to run but at the same time drawn to the danger. "What are you?" she breathed.

"The same thing Scott is and Isaac, even Malia although she's slightly different, we're werewolves" he flashed his eyes red to her. "Quite ironic considering the top you're wearing today."

Antoinette could hardly believe it, she felt knots in her stomach and could scarcely talk, she needed to sit down before she fell down. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Like Scott, I'm an alpha and I need a pack in order to stay strong, there is a very real threat and I need to be strong enough to take it down."

"What has this got to do with me?"

"Think about it, you can't be that brain damaged from the fall, I want you to join Isaac and be in my pack."

She gave him a small glare for his comment. "But I'm human."

"One bite from an alpha, that's all it takes."

"Do I have to be a wolf to be part of your pack?"

"Technically no, Lydia is a banshee and Stiles is human but it does help and I believe you would benefit from it, you would be stronger, strong enough not to get beaten up, you can end the pain; I felt enough of it radiating off of you when I caught you."

"Our pain makes us stronger, our battle wounds prove that we are" she protested.

"They caused you to attempt suicide."

"We are not predisposed to jump off the edge, we are conditioned to."

Derek paused before replying and looked at her, she was fascinating, her answer was not the one he had expected; given the opportunity to gain power over her bullies and she turned it down. "I'm giving you a way out."

"I don't want it, this is my fight and I will do this my way." She had found her courage and having said all she had to; she turned to run off back to the school.

"What is the point in fighting if you're not fighting for anything? That's why you're losing."

She stopped and looked back. "Excuse me?"

"I saw you this morning, deciding what to wear and then playing it safe, you're not you, you're hiding you, start fighting for yourself by being yourself."

"That's really creepy; can you not watch me getting dressed?"

"It is what it is" with that he turned and walked off.

The rest of the day Antoinette avoided Scott and his friends, the notion that they were all supernatural creatures was too much to handle in her state and she went home to seriously think if this was a good idea. They guessed that Derek had told Antoinette but they had faith that she would come around or at the very least get used to the idea and realise they really did want to be her friends. After all it was a lot to take in after you had a close call with death's door and nearly hearing your own bell toll for you.


	8. Can't Fool Me

**A/N: Hello! Managed to fix the problem with uploading the cover photo a couple of chapters ago but a friend of mine is currently hand drawing me a special cover photo just for this fanfic! :3 Her art is amazing and if she had a page or instagram that she posted it all too, I would promote, sadly she does not. Here's the latest chapter which was finished short of 10 minutes ago, the word "viridescent" is real and not madeup, it means a vibrant green colour (thought I would clarify in case some of you got confused, don't worry at first I wasn't even sure it was correct) read and review!**

Friday were probably the best day for Antoinette, a fairly easy day at school and then two whole days away from it. Sure she had work on those two days but she would be damned if she said she preferred school to work, at work she did not bullied for being different. At least she was not as different as scoot and Isaac and Malia and Lydia and Derek, basically her entire friend set, although it seemed to all work out for them pretty well. She sighed at herself, she felt horrible for how she had treated them after what Derek had told her, she was in shock yes but that was no reason to avoid them all day. They had done nothing to give her any reason that they would hurt her, the exact opposite in fact; they only wanted to help her even if there was a slight hidden agenda in there.

As the excess dye washed out of her hair, she decided she would apologise for her actions yesterday but under no circumstances was she going to accept the bite. After drying her newly dyed hair, she braided it down the left side of her head and around the back where she pinned the rest as well as the braid up in a messy bun. The silver now looked fresh and vibrant and while adding the thick black eyeliner and smoky eyeshadow, she began to feel like herself again. When she walked back into her bedroom, she already had an outfit laid out; not the usual plain outfits that she had been wearing but the kind of clothes she wore, back in London, the real her. She pulled one leg into the onyx jeans that were ripped in sections all down the legs and clumsily pulled her other limb into them as she wriggled her hips passed the waist band. The top she chose was a grey tank top with a black grain going across it, it was low cut and comfortable to wear much like the distressed grey military style combat boots she was lacing up. She shrugged on a worn leather jacket that was asymmetrical in style and pinned tiny black rose earrings into her ears. Once she had tied an ebony cameo on a ribbon around her neck, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Not only did she look like herself but she also felt like herself, something she had not felt for a long time, not since her father had passed.

As she left the flat, she clipped a leather bracelet around her wrist and locked the door before heading out of the building. When she turned around, she noticed a shiny black Camaro parked outside her building, the window rolled down and Antoinette saw Derek in the driver's seat and rolled her eyes, she did not know how long he had been there nor did she care. The message was clear and she reluctantly opened the passenger's side and slumped into the car clicking in her belt.

"You listened to my advice about being yourself" he stated.

She propped her left elbow on the side of the car and placed her hand on her head. "It wasn't for you, it was for me, why are you outside my flat again, Derek?" she asked.

"You took so long to getting ready; I knew you would need a lift."

"You're a terrible liar."

"I'm not, but I wanted to talk to you about yesterday, I gather it was a lot to take in and after sleeping on it. I want to know what's going through your head" he looked at her as he slowed to a stop at a red light.

Antoinette looked down at the crimson rose tattoo on the back of her hand and shrugged. "I accept that you all are what you are and it doesn't bother me like it should do, I'm not freaked out for some reason because instead I feel belonging" she looked up at him. "But I do not want to be one of you, I like being human and I don't know if I want to be part of your pack either; it sounds dangerous and I just want to get through school."

He looked into her viridescent eyes that glittered blue around the pupil and sighed. "When I caught you, you were dead behind the eyes, yesterday I saw a hint of a spark but today I see that spark back in them."

"I lost that spark when I came here" she whispered.

"It's okay if you fall down and lose your spark. Just make sure when you get back up, you rise as the whole damn fire."

There was silence between them and she swallowed looking up outside. "The light is green" she said and he nodded driving on.

Pulling up at the school gained a lot of attention, not necessarily wanted and Scott with everyone else were already there watching too. Antoinette grabbed her bag and was about to get out when Derek gripped her arm and stopped her, she winced at the tightness of his grip.

"Ouch, Derek let me go."

"Back at the lights when you said you wanted to stay away from danger, I heard your heart quicken and that's a sign when someone is lying. You can try to fool yourself that this isn't what you want but I knew the night you trespassed into my family's house that it is."

She said nothing and he let her go; she rubbed her arm a bit before pulling the handle to open the door. _'Show them what you're made of'_ she thought.

Antoinette stepped out of the car and swung her bag on one shoulder, she shut the car door and not looking at anyone; she started towards her friends as she heard the Camaro drive off. Scott and his companions wore the same dumbfounded look as everyone else; no one expected this of Antoinette. To have someone so meek and mild who was always so reserved to come out with a whole new look and attitude was bewildering to all but suspicious to the gang.

"Did you accept the bite?" Stiles blurted out when she arrived to them.

Antoinette frowned. "No, I didn't, what gave you that impression?"

"The fact you look actually hot and your clothes are expressing yourself" said Malia.

"You guys should know, this is how I used to dress back in England and how I'm going to dress from now on, no more hiding" Antoinette stated.

Isaac smiled and gave her a hug. "We knew you'd come around."

She hugged him briefly being reminded and then looked at them all. "I want to apologise for my actions yesterday, it was a lot to take in but that does not excuse it and since being here you are the only ones who have shown me kindness please forgive me."

"All is forgiven" said Scott. "It's nice to see you being you now."

"I was going to take you shopping over the weekend, it seems I don't have to anymore" said Lydia with approval.

They all headed inside the school together, Isaac by Antoinette's side, the pair of them laughing with one another. Stares and bemused expressions still followed her, with a few glares from Eliza and Adam but she did not care because she was wearing her armour and new found confidence for battle.

Biology first, the easier of the three sciences, Antoinette took her seat and to her surprise Isaac decided to move next to her; it made her smile. She heard Eliza scoff from the table behind her and Antoinette rolled her eyes. _'Irritating twerp'_ she thought. Her knuckles had turned white where she was gripping the table so tight, Isaac placed his hand on hers and she relaxed giving him a half smile of "I'm okay". The teacher waltzed into the classroom and the lesson started, it was relatively dull, with lots of silent book work but very so often Antoinette would hear Eliza make snide remarks under her breath.

"You think just because you have friends you can grow some balls and show us attitude, who do you think you are?"

Antoinette turned around. "Get lost, you just can't stand that people have seen passed your bullshit."

"Your stupidity amazes me, we'll get you, you know."

"I have no doubt you'll try but it is a bit rich calling me stupid when you're the one failing every class you take."

Eliza got up and lunged for Antoinette and in a flash of a moment Antoinette took of her jacket, blocked the punch coming her way before delivering her own straight into Eliza's nose; who went reeling. Antoinette did not even give Eliza a moment to recover as Antoinette grasped Eliza's hair and yanked it down to hit her head on the table. Eliza hit the floor and her arms flailed weakly doing nothing to stop the hovering English girl from smashing her fist into Eliza's cheek again and again. Isaac pulled Antoinette off of Eliza, Antoinette had been so focussed on the beaten up mess on the floor that she had not noticed the teacher calling for them to stop or the rest of the class gawking at her with a newly found fear of her. But all Isaac could look at were the scars on her bare arms, because she had never worn short sleeves before, no one had seen them but there they were in all their glory. A permanent reminder of the constant battle she was fighting within herself and _with_ herself each and every single day.

Antoinette was suspended from school for the rest of the day and the only reason she was not expelled was due to the fact they had ignored her being beaten up for months. Something she happily built her innocence on when they tried to blame her for what she did to Eliza, the case of self-defence was won; back to school bright and early on Monday morning.


	9. A Quiet Moment

**A/N: Next chapter is here, you lucky lot are going to get 2 chapters within quick succession because I have been a busy bee and been writing a lot these past couple days, although I do need a bit of help! It's been so long since I used this site until recently that I've forgotten how to put a line under my writing so that I can do two scenes within one chapter, anyone help me with that? Thanks, enjoy and review!**

Antoinette sat with a victory mug of hot chocolate on her bed with her laptop; she was researching for her history project and making excellent progress. It was getting towards late afternoon, early evening when a knock on her balcony window startled her making her spill her drink on herself. She cursed and stood up to grab a towel, confusion swept her. _'Who is knocking at my balcony? How did they even get up there?'_ She pulled the curtains back and saw Isaac standing there grinning; she opened the balcony door.

"What are you doing on my balcony? More importantly how did you know where I live? Wait, Derek?"

He nodded and strolled into her flat looking around curiously and ignored her comment about being invited in.

"What are you doing here, Isaac?" she asked after shutting the door.

He walked over to the fire place where there were photos along the mantelpiece of her family, both old and more recent.

"To see if you're okay after what happened today, I also told the others what happened and they seemed worried about you" he turned to look at her.

"You actually got a half smile out of Derek and a comment about having bite as well as a bark."

"The irony" she muttered. "He doesn't smile much does he?"

"He doesn't smile at all and he keeps himself to himself guarding his emotions and never trusts people. He doesn't like to admit it but I will: we need you even if you don't want to become a wolf, we just need pack members; his uncle will try to kill him for his status otherwise."

She rubbed her arm uncomfortably, not because her cuts hurt but more due a nervous tick she had developed when put on the spot- getting ready to choose between fight or flight mode when threatened or under attack in any context. Of course Isaac noticed and walked over to her and moved her hand away from her arm so that he could take hold of her arm gently. He turned it over slowly to look at the scars of time written on it and he looked saddened. Looking up at him, Antoinette felt her breathing become shallow and there was silence between them.

"You need to stop doing this to yourself" he said quietly as he stroked a more prominent scar with his thumb.

"It's not as easy as that, it's addictive; the physical cuts heal whereas the emotional and mental ones don't. Pain reminds us that we are alive and that we are human."

"Then let us help you" he said and then noticed the double bed that her laptop was placed on and frowned. "Do you live here by yourself?"

Antoinette stepped back and laughed. "Of course not, I live with my father; he's just at work but will be back for Christmas."

"That's months away and there's only one bed."

"He's in the military, it's expected-"

"Antoinette" Isaac began. "You must sound very convincing to ordinary people but you can't lie to me, are you living alone here?"

She swallowed and nodded looking down at the floor.

"Why? Where are you family?" he asked trying to get her to look at him.

She walked away from him and stared at one of the pictures of her and her family, it was when her father took both, her little brother and her to a theme park, the last day out before he was diagnosed soon after. How could she tell him? She left England to escape the care system, there was no way she was going into it now but he knew she was hiding something now and that made things difficult. You cannot have a friendship without trust and right now he did not trust her and she did not trust him with the knowledge of her past. Thus at an impasse, she knew she had to otherwise things would start getting complicated and she did not want to risk losing them all now.

"They're dead" she whispered but she knew he would hear her.

Now he wished he had not pushed, he assumed the answer would be something simple, because she had run away from home or because she was kicked out but nothing as personal as this. His burning curiosity wanted to know more but he had already violated that wall she had placed to protect herself and did not want to stab at it much more. Forget whether it was right or not, it was evident from her body language and her emotions that this was painful for her. It was not fair to drag these memories up from the ether.

"My father died four months ago during a mission with his regiment and my brother died when I was ten from leukaemia, we didn't catch it quick enough. He was only five" she blinked back tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"What about your mother?"

"Died in childbirth with my brother" she turned to face him. "I moved here to start over. Isaac please you can't tell anyone and I mean anyone; I turn eighteen soon and then it won't matter but I don't want to go into the care system, please."

Isaac closed the space between them and gave her a tight hug. It was warm and comforting and reassuring, everything Antoinette needed in that moment. Part of her wished he would never let her go and another part of her wished she did not need that hug as much as she did. However, she let herself relax against him and listened to the steady beat of his heart, something she was sure she could fall asleep to.

"I am cursed or some shit" she breathed.

"Don't worry little Deveraux, your secret is safe with me" he kissed the top of her head before letting her go.

"Thank you" she said.

"Doesn't it get lonely though?" he asked. "Being by yourself a lot?"

"All the time" she admitted. "I don't even have a pet to keep me company."

"Perhaps get one" he laughed and looked outside. "I should go, it's getting late."

"Please don't go" she said quickly. "Please stay, at least until I fall asleep and that may sound weird but-"

"I will" he smiled.

Antoinette saved the work she had done on her laptop and shut it down, stuffing into the bottom drawer of her side draws by the bed. Lying on her front, she collapsed onto her bed and hugged her pillow to her head. Isaac perched on top of the covers of the bed while she crawled under and looked up at him; she was too lazy to get changed. He took hold of her left hand and studied the rose tattoo on her hand; he rubbed it almost like he was confirming it was real.

"What does it mean?" he asked.

She shrugged sleepily. "It's just a rose."

Her eyes fluttered open and closed as she tried to stay awake for longer, just so she could feel another presence in the flat other than loneliness when he would eventually leave.


	10. Traumatic Times

**A/N: Told you this chapter would come quicker than usual, WARNING this chapter contains possible triggers around assault of a sexual nature, I do not condone any such behaviour just to be clear, read at your own risk but skip the first part if it is too harrowing. Review and enjoy.**

It had been a long day at the diner where she worked, very busy and very stressful. She had woken up in the morning to find that Isaac had left after she fell asleep, like he said he would. By the time she had started work, it was packed and she had lots of serving to do, she liked to pride herself in the fact that she worked hard and was friendly to customers; but today people seems stingy with their tips. One person's 'tip' was to "get better at makeup"; at least her friends came to visit her; that was a nice surprise.

Isaac agreed to meet her after work and take her home because it was going to be late and although she told him she would be fine, he said he would feel more comfortable if he did. The others had agreed, so how could she refuse? She liked the fact that they worried about her and she smiled at the thought as she placed the last chair upside down on the diner table. It was late and she was looking forward to going home when one of her regular customers walked in despite half the lights being off. She pulled on her jacket when she spotted him.

"I'm sorry Jack, we're closed, come back tomorrow yeah?"

"That's not why I'm here" Jack said as he stopped her walking passed him. "I'm here for you."

"I don't understand" she said clutching her bag.

"I see the way you look at me every weekend I'm here; it's the same way I look at you."

"Oh no, Jack… I'm really friendly with all of my customers but I don't feel the same way that you do, I'm sorry." She touched his arm apologetically and started towards the exit, she knew Isaac would be waiting for her.

It seems Jack was not the type to take no for an answer because anger at rejection took over and he seized hold of her waist from behind and dragged her back, as if a woman's feelings and wishes were to be dismissed so easily- in one ear out the other. Caught by surprise, she cried out and struggled as best she could but he was a grown man, probably in university or work or something like that and too strong even for her adrenaline fuelled might. With a sweep of his arm, he bulldozed a table of its chairs and then shoved her top half over it, she wished she had taken some precaution like placing a defence weapon in her jacket but how could she know this was to happen? She cried out again trying to throw herself of off the table.

"Stop!" she screamed.

In a last fit of defiance, Antoinette forced her body up and nutted the back of her head into his face. He roared in fury and pain and grabbed a nest of her hair and struck her head on the table which made a nauseating thud upon impact. She did not quite go limp but she was dazed enough not to fight back anymore. Jack started trying to lift her pencil skirt above her waist but it being too tight, he resulted to just ripping parts of it. Antoinette closed her eyes about to accept inevitability, wondering why schools did not teach people how to defend themselves against these types of attack, when she felt Jack being hauled off of her and flung across the diner. He crashed into stacked chairs like they were bowling pins and fell slack.

"I believe the young lady told you she wasn't interested and that this place was closed" said Isaac his golden wolf eyes fading from their impulsive glow. "And if I catch you try anything like that to her or anyone else again, I will find you and some fractured bones will be the least of your worries."

Isaac turned back to Antoinette who had slid off of the table and into a half sitting position on the floor; he pulled his jacket off and knelt down in front of her wrapping it around her shoulders. He gently lifted her to her feet while protectively leading her out of the diner to take her back to her flat. She was too in shock to be able to speak and he just wanted to get her to safety.

When they finally arrived back at her flat, it was only then that she found her words, perhaps it was the comfort of her own home which seemed foreign to her at this moment.

"Thank you" she said faintly.

"Are you alright?" Isaac asked handing a glass of water. She sipped it and nodded, he tried looking at the bruised lump appearing on her forehead but she pulled away. "If I ever see him again, I'll-"

"Isaac leave it, I'm fine."

He sighed, he knew she wasn't but he also knew that she would not want to talk about it at least not right now; this was the way she dealt with things. She pushed them to one side, buried them within the dark void of her mind; locked them away in the ether and the dark depths of her id. He let her go to bed; he desperately wanted to stay considering he only wanted her to be safe; they all did.

* * *

Derek had called Isaac several times that night unsuccessfully. Something did not feel right and he wanted his only pack member with him just in case. Except he was usually with Scott or chasing after the English airhead, sure he had told Isaac to get close to her to convince her to join the pack but it was getting beyond that now,; he was sure. He had to admit though, that airhead was strong and not to be taken for a fool, there was something about her that he respected, admired even but he would never tell her that. He did not trust her either, not that he trusted anyone anyway but the Deveraux girl was too secretive; like she was hiding something important. Regardless, she would be a valuable member to the pack, if she would actually agree to being part of it; he did not even care about turning her at this point, only to fill dwindling numbers. He tried to call Isaac again, it rung and rung and rung until eventually going to voicemail.

Derek let out an exasperated sigh. "I swear to god Isaac, if you do not answer your phone I'm going to seriously hurt you and you better not be with that English girl when you know the situation I'm in" he stuffed his phone back in his pocket.

He decided it was time to go home and so left his family's burnt down house that was standing on its last legs and headed in the direction of his building, the loft he lived in now. It was late and a fairly cloudy night which meant there was no moon in the sky at all. He was relying purely on his own sense, heightened as they were it was not always easy to pick up on everything. The one overwhelming sense he was getting was that of being followed, more like stalked like prey, usually this would not bother him but this time it was different. He recognised the scent.

Peter emerged from the blackness of the woods and advanced towards Derek sinisterly, malicious intent within his mind. Generally, Derek was not one to shy away from a fight, he was strong and sure-footed, disciplined even but that was normally when he knew someone had his back should he desperately need it. Now he was caught between a rock and a hard place, he had to defend himself that was obvious but did he really want to have a full on fight when Isaac was nowhere to be found? Although he was an alpha, without a solid pack he could not trump Peter's strength and experience, only match it. Peter was older and stronger and more adept than he was and the fact neither of them cared if they tore each other apart made things all the worse. There was only one way out of this, run and risk being chased down or face it and risk being killed.

"You look like you've seen a ghost" said Peter. "Surely you were expecting me to turn up, I gave you a week, where's your pack?"

"Not here" Derek replied darkly.

"I don't think you have one, little birdy tells me you're having trouble trying to get one little English girl."

Derek clenched his jaw, the realisation Peter had watched him and waited until he was alone, washed over him.

"I have one word for you" Peter leant forward and lowered his voice. "Jailbait."

"It's not about that."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, if you had been paying attention, you'd know that she's broken and the broken make the best followers."

"Like the other one, the Lahey boy when you turned him the first time you were alpha, you really know how to pick them. He's with her you know, I persuaded someone to cause a little distraction for the pair of them."

Derek was sick of hearing all of this, Peter wanted a rise out of him, for him to make the first move and risk making a mistake. "He's trying to convince her to join us, like I asked; no matter what incident you have caused."

Peter laughed. "Of course that's what it is, silly me, no; he's flirting with the mentally deficient bitch."

"Her name is Antoinette" Derek tried not to frown at himself for defending her.

"Deveraux, I know, you know what they say about the French" he flicked his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

Derek snapped and went for Peter who flicked his claws out and swung his arm around. Derek dropped to his knees and slid underneath Peter's arm, he stood back up to swipe at Peter's back but Peter jumped out of the way narrowly missing the attack. Peter grabbed Derek and kneed him in the stomach causing Derek to grunt and stumble back but Peter advanced and grabbed a bunch of Derek's top to throw him into a tree. Derek twisted his body to avoid contact and jumped off of it instead bringing down an almighty punch to Peter's face before turning around and elbowed him in the Adam's apple.

Peter made an unhealthy choking sound. This sparked anger in him and he clawed at Derek's arm drawing blood. Derek stepped back groaning in pain and tried to return the favour with another punch. Something Peter easily caught which should not have been, this made Derek frown, he was weaker all of a sudden, how? Peter once again grasped Derek's top around the collar and slammed him to the ground, causing Derek to grunt with the impact; the air being knocked out of his lungs. Peter slashed at Derek's chest causing deep wounds making him roar in agony.

Not being able to stop the onslaught of gashes rendering his flesh to ribbons, Derek did the one thing he was able to do. Snapping Peter's leg sideways and making him fall to one knee, Derek scrambled up and sprinted as fast as he could go and his wounds would allow enabling himself to heal in safety. Once he was sure that Peter was not going to finish the job, Derek slumped against a tree and fell to the moss covered ground, heavily breathing, bleeding and barely alive.


	11. Extraordinary Little Rose

**A/N: I'm so sorry it has taken so incredibly long to post this next chapter, it has been written for a while but I've been so busy with coursework that I haven't had the chance to type it up, but here it is. As a side note, I am going to Milan for New Years which means there could be another long gap in between chapters but I will do my utmost to post a chapter before I leave on the 30th (deadlines depending). Read, Review and enjoy, as always :)**

Antoinette lie awake staring up at the ceiling, she barely slept last night and when she did, her dreams were unsettling and empty. She decided that after what happened last night, she was going to quit her job; she could not be there anymore.

While showering, she scrubbed her skin so clean it went red raw, the events of that night replaying again and again in her head. She felt tarnished and no amount of washing was going to fix that, there was no soap that could clean guilt. What did she have to be guilty about? It was not her fault; she did not make it happen. Although she had heard cases where worse had happened and it was always the victim put on trial more than the defendant. Was she a victim? Would she allow herself to be a victim? It did not quite fit, at least she thought it did not but if others found out, that is what she would be labelled as. Isaac knew and he already treated her with sympathy but that is not what she wanted, she simply wanted to be taken at face value. Not a victim but a survivor of the odds.

As she wriggled into a pair of faded grey and black jeans, she checked the time and saw it was nearly ten. Work would be expecting her but she was only going there to hand in her resignation. After pulling on a loose black short sleeved top; she zipped up a pair of heeled boots and yanked her leather jacket on.

Grabbing her bag and tying on a canvas bracelet, she made her way down to the garage of her building. Her car was nothing to be proud of but nothing to be ashamed of either. It was a silver Mini convertible and it was her pride and joy, she used to drive it to school when she first bought it but it was soon targeted and vandalised and so she decided to walk to school instead.

Within an hour, Antoinette had driven to the diner and plucked up the courage after a long and arduous mental battle with her mind, to go in and get it over with. As she headed to the diner from the carpark, she put her hand in her bag and felt the Taser in its casing. Last night during one of the times she could not sleep, she had taken a tin from under her bed and placed the Taser in her bag. She had considered taking the pepper spray too but felt that, that might be classed as overkill. The bell above the door of the diner sung out as she walked through and Antoinette briefly looked around before heading into the office. Her boss did not look happy that she was leaving but it was not his choice and after hearing her reason of not feeling safe there anymore, he understood all too well and wished her the best of luck.

Kicking a can across the pavement, she paced towards her car; she was going home, have some lunch and continue with her history project or maybe hang with friends. She was utterly lost in her own thoughts and had no idea that a person was stumbling across from the street towards her.

Derek could hardly see he was so weak; all he knew was that he had not healed and that Peter had found him, coming to finish what he started. He saw someone strolling out of a diner but he could not focus to see who it was. The red haze on the person's hand gave him some idea that it was possibly Antoinette and he stumbled up to her. It was only when he fell against her causing his blood to stain her top, that she actually noticed him. Crying out in surprise, she grabbed onto him taking a few steps back due to his dead weight, trying not to fall over.

"Derek, what happened to you?" she asked worriedly.

"Peter… found me…" He could barely speak and sounded so out of breath.

"Who's Peter?"

"My uncle…"

Antoinette looked around, still holding onto Derek. "Is your uncle a tall guy wearing a white top?"

Derek nodded.

"He's coming this way."

Derek looked behind him and cursed as he turned around to face Peter, letting go of Antoinette. Derek tried to position a stance of defence in attempt to protect Antoinette from the oncoming threat; he knew that once Peter was done with him, it was almost certain he would kill her next. Only problem was, it would not take an east wind to knock him down, he was barely standing as it was and swaying from side to side with the wind anyway.

"Really?" said Peter, an eyebrow raised.

His hand whipped out and gripped Derek's neck tight, lifting him off of the ground. Derek grabbed Peter's wrist trying to pull it away as he started choking and struggled to breathe.

"Did you honestly think you could fend me off with all the poison running through your bloodstream?" Peter began to squeeze harder and Derek writhed in his grasp.

Antoinette could see Derek slowly stop struggling, Peter was killing him. Of course she was not really a match for their strength and would likely die if she tried hand to hand combat but she also knew that she could not let this happen as it would likely be her next. Peter, who was beginning to look very pleased with himself; until two probes imbedded themselves into his chest. Volts of electricity flooded his body and he cried out and dropped Derek who gasped for air. Peter glared up from the floor to see Antoinette standing with her Taser in hand. Satisfied that peter was not going to get up any time soon, she dropped the Taser and rushed over to Derek and grabbed his arm. Hauling him up, she made her way to her Mini and dropped him into the passenger seat before running around to the other side and driving off.

"I need to get you to a hospital" she said worriedly, glancing at him but he shook his head. "Then where?"

Carrying someone bigger and heavier than you are is a feat on its own but up several flights of stairs too was an endeavour and a half. When Antoinette reached Derek's loft after helping him up, she was just about ready to pass out as well. She felt him slipping away from her support and she tripped over her heels in attempt to stop him, only ending up tumbling to the ground with him. She landed on top of him and he grunted with the impact, not what he needed at all.

"Oh god" she cursed. "I'm so sorry."

She stood up and then pulled his arm around her neck and heaved him up again managing to make it to the bed where she laid him down. Looking at him, she considered what to do; if he was not healing because of poison then perhaps she could stop that. She was good at biology after all, top of her class in fact. Derek seemed to be phasing in and out of conscious and Antoinette did not know what else to do so she knelt down and took off what was left of his top and looked at his body in horror.

"Jesus Christ…" she breathed.

"That bad huh?" he said trying to sit up.

"That blaspheme would have been about the fact you clearly work out, if it was not for these nine inch lacerations across the entirety of your abdomen. Don't get up, stay down" she pushed his shoulder gently. "You're not healing; your uncle mentioned something about poison, what poisons you?"

"Most things, anything really but mainly wolf's bane" he groaned trying to sit up again. "I need to get to the vet, Deaton can help."

She pushed him back down more forcefully. "There's no time" she looked at the lacerations and thought for a moment. "I think I can fix this."

She stood up and grabbed her bag, frantically rifling through it. Her hand fell upon a medium sized bottle and she yanked it out, trying to read the label in the useless lighting. _Atropine eye drops_.

"Atropine neutralises monkshood, do you have any alcohol?"

"The hell do you need that for?"

"To make a solution: Atropine to neutralise the poison and alcohol to cleanse the wounds and stop infection."

Derek directed her to a table in the corner of the room and she ran over to snatch up the bottle and ran back to him. She dumped the entire contents of eye drops into the half bottle of alcohol and gave it a quick shake to mix it up.

"Brace yourself, this is going to sting" she said.

He nodded in preparation for himself. Pouring the solution over him, she tried to ignore his cries of agony and hold him down slightly as he jolted and tensed his muscles. Almost instantly the black veins that had formed on his chest around the open wounds disappeared and he settled down having his breathing return to normal. Antoinette stood there and glanced at the young man who had finally passed out and she made a silent pledge to him, if this was what could happen if he was not strong enough then it was her responsibility to make a difference. She collapsed into the sofa across the room, having decided to let him rest and to stay to make sure he was okay.

It was a few hours later before Derek woke up again; Antoinette had her head propped up on her arm against the sofa and dozed off herself. She heard him stirring and she shook herself awake to find him sat up and looking at her. She wondered how long he had been doing that but tried not to think about it too much in case the answer unsettled her. Most of the slashes had healed, barring the seriously deep ones although they looked better too. Antoinette pushed her jacket, that she had laid over herself to keep her warm while napping, and stood up walking over to him.

"How are you feeling? I tried to find something to bind your chest with but you don't even have a first aid kit" she sat cross legged in front of him.

"I never really need anything, I always just heal with time except when poisoned" he looked at her coming to a realisation. "You saved my life, thank you."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "You saved mine, now we're even" she half smiled and jerked her head in attempt to flick hair out of her face.

Derek noticed something and that was when he reached over to her and brushed part of her hair out of her face and she swallowed breathing in slightly. He frowned at the contusion on her head from the last night and she instinctively pulled her head away causing him to retract his hand.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I am truly cursed or some shit. Last night someone at the diner attacked me, if Isaac hadn't have been there, then…" she trailed off and shook her head.

Derek then realised that the 'distraction' Peter had been talking about was this and he too shook his head realising he was partly to blame for it. "You shouldn't be here; you don't know me or anything about me."

"Then tell me, I'll listen."

"I can't" he said.

"Why not?"

"I just can't. Everyone around me gets hurt."

"Derek, I've been hurt before, I mean look at my school life, I hurt myself; it doesn't seem to matter where I go because it all follows. I am cursed swear."

"Not like this" he stood up and she did the same.

"I want to accept your offer, I want to be part of your pack and before you protest, I've already made up my mind. If with me you'll be stronger and your uncle won't be able to do this to you again then I'll do it but as me, agreed?"

He looked somewhat surprised but nodded. "Agreed."

Antoinette watched as the last of the damage healed over and satisfied her job was done, she grabbed her jacket and bag and started to leave. She stopped at the door, realising she had not quite said goodbye and looked back at him. He was watching her.

"Smile Derek Hale, someone could be falling in love with you."

She grinned and left, leaving him there to stare at the empty doorway of where she had been.

' _Extraordinary little rose…'_ he thought.


	12. French Relations

**A/N: This chapter would have been posted earlier but I couldn't type it up quick enough due to be working all weekend and this is the only other chance I got. Things are starting to get interesting, the plot is thickening. Again I'll try to post one or two more chapters before I leave for Milan, as always read, enjoy and review :3**

It had been a couple of weeks since Antoinette's heroism, something Isaac never let Derek live down and probably never will. The group came to adopt the nickname _'Toni'_ for her and she tended to smile whenever they said it. Eliza, Adam and other previous bullies seemed to be slowly backing off, perhaps it was because they knew she was not alone now; or maybe because Antoinette proved that she could in fact defend herself.

Life went on as normal, she was an ordinary seventeen year old, doing ordinary seventeen year old things; school, homework, socialising. Apart from the fact all of her friends except one were entities of the supernatural and that she was joined to a pack with a particularly grumpy untrusting alpha; she was completely ordinary. Mundane in fact, although the others, excluding Derek, all disagreed and said she had her own little flare about her.

Her eighteenth birthday was close, Antoinette did not want to celebrate considering it was the first one without her father; she did not tell them that though, but Lydia had insisted. Lydia even offered up her lake house as a venue for the possible party, even when Antoinette said she did not have anyone to invite except them. Lydia had laughed at this and explained that none of her parties had _just_ her friends, her parties were massive and then offered to sort it all out for Antoinette. With Isaac's encouragement, she agreed to let Lydia organise it all, something Lydia then squealed in excitement about going on about how she was going to take Antoinette shopping to get a nice outfit to wear and whatnot. Stiles had laughed saying Antoinette could regret her decision but she decided to keep an open mind.

Peter had gone to Derek and explained that his murder attempt was only to help sway Antoinette's mind and not because he wanted to kill him. Derek did not believe him of course, but did not want to kill him either. He was a Hale and after the fire, Derek did not want to cut his family down anymore then he had to. The truth of the matter was, Derek was now powerful enough to take Peter down and Peter was just feeling sorry for himself. Especially, after he got put on his rear end by an English girl, with nothing more than a Taser. Something Derek never let Peter live down or ever would either. Antoinette did not trust him and the fact no one liked him either only confirmed her distrust.

It was the last few days before they broke up from school for a spring break, they could all use a break. First though, finishing any deadlines due in beforehand and that meant serious studying. Stiles and Antoinette were in the library with Malia, working on their history projects, Stiles looked rather bored and fed up. He had flicked a rubber band in his eye twice and made both Malia and Antoinette laugh at him. The librarian kept telling the trio to quieten down but how could you with Stiles being Stiles? Antoinette was also giggling at her phone; she had been texting Isaac during his lesson about funny pranks and scenarios to play on Derek, who they both knew had no sense of humour. When he stopped replying, she assumed he had been caught and had his phone taken away by Coach, Isaac was in economics after all. This only made her giggle more because she could imagine what he would have said. _"Lahey! Stop texting in my class! Give me that, you little delinquent."_ He probably would not have even waited for Isaac to hand it over, just snatched it out of his hand and given him evil eyes for the rest of lesson.

Antoinette got on with her work, she had found out that her grandfather was a British spy during the Second World War and deemed a hero. Her great grandfather fought in the First World War, she had found letters online he had written to his wife while in the trenches. Sadly he never made it to the end of the war because he died in the Somme, leaving a son fatherless and his mother a widow. What Antoinette really wanted to know though, was when her ancestors migrated to England and who it was. It had taken the weeks she had been given to track her family history back this far but she finally found some indication of a Renè Deveraux and his wife arriving in London in 1845. There was a child too, who came with them who then married shortly after.

Antoinette had thought finding the ancestor who had migrated was hard, trying to find out where they moved from and who his wife was, was even harder. It took so long that Stiles and Malia had left to go home at the end of the day, while she stayed to work it out. The discovery disturbed her greatly, predominantly when she found an old Victorian style photograph of Renè Deveraux's wife. The more she researched the person and the more she found out, the more unsettled she became until she could not take it anymore. She sent everything she had found to Stiles because he was smart and might be able to tell her if it was all coincidence. Upon reviewing it all, Stiles called her and said to meet him at Derek's loft, a consultation had been called and it was not looking good.

By the time Antoinette had arrived in her silver Mini, laptop in hand, it was nearly dark. Everyone else was already there waiting for her, they all looked confused except Stiles who knew what this was about.

"What's up Toni? You look like you've seen a ghost" said Isaac.

"A ghost you say, a ghost perhaps, I'm not quite sure" she replied as she placed her laptop on the table.

"If your paranoia has brought us all up here to my loft for no reason, then I'm making you get your head checked" said Derek looking unamused, arms crossed as he stood there.

"I know it's no secret that a lot of you think I'm hiding something" she glanced to Isaac. "Derek has expressed it to me several times, but what I'm about to show you; not even I knew." On the laptop she pulled up a picture of Renè Deveraux in smart Victorian attire. "This is Renè Deveraux, he with his family were the ones who travelled to England where my family resided until now. I always suspected I had French relations but they didn't come from France."

"Where were they from? I'm confused" said Scott.

"The French quarter of New Orleans."

"I'm confused as to why you're so freaked out by this" said Lydia.

"It's not this that I'm freaked out about" replied Antoinette playing with her hands awkwardly.

"Then what, get to the point" demanded Derek impatiently.

Antoinette rubbed her arm the way she did when she was uncomfortable, Isaac knowing this tick of hers, gave Derek a look.

"It's the wife that scares me, she was a suspected witch of the quarter, there is a ton of stories on things she's done but it is all hearsay and no real proof to it all."

"What has any of this got to do with you? Apart it being your family of course" Malia held up a hand in perplexity.

Antoinette hesitated and swallowed before pulling up another Victorian picture, this time of a woman with black hair, a young ambitious face, slim and demure and looked identical to Antoinette in every single way, like it was her. Everyone except Stiles, who had already seen it, crowded in more closely to take a look, they looked at her and then at the picture and then back again.

"Who is that?" asked Lydia slowly.

Antoinette looked at Stiles who nodded to her. "That" she began. "Is my ancestor, Antoinette Deveraux." Expressions changed, they twisted into shock, they looked perturbed, unnerved even. Her ancestor not only looked identical to her but had the same name as her; it was too much to be coincidence. "She vanished with her family from New Orleans in 1845, they clearly came to England. What makes matters worse is that my natural hair colour is black."

"Maybe it is just coincidence, a lot of family members have resemblance with ancestors, look at Derek and his mother" offered Malia, who caught sight of a glare from Derek.

"It's not, my family never mentioned anything about our ancestors, I'm not even sure they knew" replied Antoinette.

"We need to know for sure, I knew there was something you were hiding, even if you didn't know what it was" said Derek.

Scott spoke up for the first time in ages. "Spring break is in a couple of days, when it comes, we'll go down to New Orleans to check it out."

"I'll take her" said Derek who received estranged looks from the others. "What? She's part of my pack, which makes this my problem. Isaac you're coming too."

"What? No! You're horrible to road trip with" Isaac protested.

"Tough shit, you can keep your girlfriend company."

"He's not, we're not-"

"We're just friends" interrupted Isaac.

Derek did not look like he much cared. Antoinette stood there and prepared herself to find out what was going on. Who was this Antoinette Deveraux ancestor? And what was her story? And why did they look like identical twins having the same names? All of these questions rattled away in her brain and she wondered if she wanted to find out the answers and what it would mean for her life if she did.


	13. Road Trip

_**A/N: Hey! So So So sorry it's been this long since I updated but I have an excuse, I was out of London for an entire week and in Milan and had no time to write then and then when I came back it was mock exam preparation. Do not fret though because chapter 13 and 14 are both finished and 14 will be posted shortly after this one. For now though, here is 13, read and review!**_

Spring break fell and the time had come for the great journey to New Orleans to get answers. The drive to New Orleans was going to take at least two days, thanks to it being on the other side of the country practically. Antoinette did not know exactly how long they were going to stay in town, so she packed enough clothes for a few days.

Everyone was meeting outside Derek's building and when she had arrived, she saw Isaac dumping his bag in the boot of Derek's Camaro. He waved to her but Derek glanced at her, grunted that she was late and continued with what he was doing.

 _Feeling the love._

He did not trust her and he did not like her, the feeling was mutual at this point. If he was such a big bad alpha, how comes his wolf arse needed her untrustworthy help it was going to be a long trip to New Orleans, especially with the negative tension coming from Derek; at least she had Isaac. When it was time to go, Lydia gave her a tight hug that made Antoinette feel like the tears were going to be squeezed out of her. She felt so sad to be leaving them all, it was frightening to not know the truth and it was even worse for the possibility that she was going to find out. What if she did not like the answer? Ignorance is bliss so they say.

"Text us, call us, skype us, let us know everything" said Lydia after finally letting Antoinette go.

She smiled sadly.

"Don't let the sourwolf give you too much hassle" now it was Stiles' turn to hug her, his comment made her laugh.

A car horn sounded signalling that Derek was getting impatient waiting; he did not care for goodbyes.

Scott stepped forward and looked at Antoinette. "Good luck out there Toni, I hope you find the answers you're looking for" he gave her a friendly smile.

Antoinette nodded and walked over to the car, riding shotgun while Isaac sat in the back. He had been told to sit in the back because Derek wanted Antoinette where he could keep an eye on her. As if she would do anything, as if she could; Derek was overreacting and Isaac knew it and would refuse to let him treat her with such hostility. They were a pack after all, causing a divide would only mean they were weaker. Derek was now on the interstate and Isaac had seen Antoinette staring out of the window since they left Beacon Hills, lost in thought; Isaac was not surprised. She had a lot to think about, he thought she was ordinary, they all did.

She was not ordinary, he knew that what with her family being dead and her living alone and the rose tattoo she refused to explain and being part of their pack. Truthfully she was not ordinary because her personality made her so, such a strong young woman, coming into her own and having the guts to pick herself up when she was down, her ability to continue on no matter what. Her ability to have stared death in the face and greeted it like an old friend, he ability to have accepted the supernatural within a day of learning about it and then her ability to save someone's life simply because it was the right thing to do. This woman deserved a medal, she deserved to be happy, and she deserved their respect. She had it, she had earned it. She had kept the façade about her family up; he was the only one who knew and perhaps the only one who would, she had trust issues, he could tell. She was not so unlike Derek in that respect, she had been hurt and betrayed several times; so badly she struggled to let her guard down with people. She let her guard down with him, Isaac could tell that too, there was no one she fully trusted other than herself and he would do nothing to jeopardise that. She needed that kind of security, no she deserved it and for as long as she needed it, he would be there. Antoinette was the little sister he never had, a bond that offered strength as well as friendship.

After a few hours in the car, the day gradually becoming mid-afternoon; the blazing sun still high in the sky, Antoinette became bored of the silence that had plagued the car. She turned to Derek and he clenched his jaw ready for her to say something, knowing inevitably the peace was ending.

"Why did you decide to take me to New Orleans?" she asked.

"You're part of my pack, which makes you my problem" he said bluntly.

She pursed her lips at his response. "I could have come alone, I don't need you."

"You're between jobs right now, how were you going to pay for flights, accommodation and food?"

"Why are you treating me with such hostility?"

"I'm not."

"Yeah you are" muttered Isaac from the back.

Derek glanced at him from the mirror. "You don't think this is odd at all? She looks exactly like her ancestor who was rumoured to being a witch, in a place where witches are renowned for. She might as well have been born in Salem."

"So?" said Isaac defensively.

"Witches don't just leave the place they are tethered to, something must have happened."

"You think my ancestor was a psychotic bitch who got kicked out and therefore I am guilty by association" Antoinette said incredulously. Derek said nothing and Antoinette shook her head. "You don't trust me."

"I don't trust anyone."

"I know, maybe if you did you might be the alpha you like to think you are."

Antoinette pulled the headphones from around her neck and shoved them on her head. She ignored the red flash in his eyes, the hurt yet irritated look on Derek's face and continued to stare out of the window to watch life pass her by. Isaac covered his grin with his hand and pulled out his phone to text Antoinette.

 _"That was brilliant; he should apply cold water to that burn."_

She read it and sighed before replying. _"What is his problem?"_

 _"He's being Derek just ignore him"_

 _"Doesn't give him an excuse to be a complete tosser"_

Isaac smiled at the insult stifling a chuckle. _"That's such a British thing to say, little Deveraux."_

Now it was her turn to smile, she locked her phone and put it back in her pocket. They drove for a few more hours before Derek pulled into a little motel and got them a room. A single room with a double bed and arm chair. Antoinette could not believe it, it was not that she expected a room to herself but she thought Derek would realise being a female she would need her privacy. Her eyes widened at how hideous the room was, it looked like a 70s reject room, something you would see in a bad porn movie. The bathroom was no better, it had a small shower that could just about fit her, a mirror that had dirt smeared across it where someone attempted to clean it; doing a poor job and she could swear she just saw a cockroach. She assumed the one room thing was so that Derek could keep an eye on her and she rolled her eyes at this.

"I'll sleep on the floor or the chair or something; you two can have the bed" she said taking off her jacket.

"No, you have the bed" replied Derek.

Antoinette looked at him surprised but nodded.

 _He has some redeeming qualities I suppose._

She was tired and hungry but was not sure which one she felt the most. After kicking off her boots, she crawled onto the bed and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she had jumped herself awake. The room was pitch black and only Isaac was there sat in the armchair, his glowing golden eyes regarding her with concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded. "Nightmare. Where's Derek?"

"He went out to find something to eat, I wasn't hungry" he watched her sit up and run a hand through her silver hair getting a flash of the rose on her hand. "You dozed off and I said I'd watch you."

"Because he doesn't trust me."

"Don't take it personally; he's like that with everyone."

"But why?"

"He was hurt by someone he trusted, she burnt his family alive and other people he trusted have betrayed him too. He's only this hostile when he's trying to distance himself from people, you saved his life; it's not surprising he began to trust you."

Antoinette was silent, seems she was not the only one with skeletons in her closet, nor the only one with a dead family. She felt a pit in her stomach where she felt she had judged him too harshly, she had trust issues too and it never occurred to her that someone else could have the same situation. She was still tired but too worried her nightmare would return to sleep, she had a feeling Isaac sensed this because he got up and sat on the other side of the bed.

"Don't worry, I'll be here if you need me" he said.

She nodded and lied back down; he lied next to her but remained on top of the duvet. They faced each other and for a long while looked at each other saying nothing but soon tiredness took over and they both drifted off to sleep.

They were all back on the road bright and early the next day. Derek did not mention the fact he found them on the bed together practically spooning, part of him did not want to know and the other part hoped it was purely plutonic. Hopefully they would arrive in New Orleans by late afternoon, early evening time. Stopping for petrol, Isaac and Antoinette swapped seats and she sat in the back. She did not mind, she enjoyed the peace.

Traffic had struck and they were stuck for a couple of hours, boredom was killing her, it was killing everyone. By the time they arrived in New Orleans it was dark, Derek parked up in a hotel carpark that looked nicer than the previous place they stayed. He looked in the mirror and saw Antoinette lying across the backseats, jacket over her shoulders, sleeping soundly. He turned around in his seat in disbelief.

"Wake her up; let's go" he said.

Isaac shook his head. "No, leave her to sleep; I'll carry her to the hotel room."

Derek rolled his eyes letting out an exasperated sigh and got out of the car, Isaac carefully lifted Antoinette out of the car and carried her bridal style; she stirred slightly but soon settled down again. Walking into the hotel room, he tucked her into the bed.

"Goodnight, little Deveraux."


	14. New Orleans

**_A/N: Told you, next chapter relatively quickly, are you ready to find out what's going on? I loved writing this chapter, although I've never visited New Orleans I do plan to one day. Read, review and enjoy! :3_**

The balcony doors to the bedroom were open which allowed a warm spring breeze to flow through and lull Antoinette out of her sleep. The sounds from the outside told her that their hotel was on the high-street. The sounds of jazz music, street performers and birds sat in a tree, slowly brought her to. Sitting up in bed she looked around, they had given her the master bedroom. It was decorated plainly, nothing too extravagant but the furniture made it look vintage and beautiful. The four poster bed was elegantly carved in intricate designs; she guessed the wood was oak judging by the colour. There was a chest of draws in the same wood with the same carvings as the bed, there was a little sofa in the corner of the large room, a brocade fabric matched that of the bedsheets; her rucksack placed on the sofa.

She swung her legs around the bed and padded out onto the balcony, she was still wearing yesterday's clothes. Vines entwined their way around the barrier of the balcony, hugging the bars tightly and little white flower buds were getting ready to bloom along the green vines. There was a slow spring breeze coming from the east. Antoinette took a deep breath of the air, it was fresh and cool but not cold and there were flecks of incense that had wafted from down the street. Although it was a busy street, it was peaceful; it was strange because for the first time in her life she felt like she genuinely belonged here. Even in London she felt like there was somewhere else more suited for her, she put it down to the death of her mother but it was the death of her father which was the catalyst to move away completely. In Beacon Hills, she never felt like she belonged there at all and she never knew why she chose Beacon Hills in the first place but here, this was home.

Realising the boys would be waiting for her; she pushed off of the barrier and padded to the en-suite to have a brief shower, before changing into a pair of faded black ripped jeans that had fishnet mesh to patch them up and a burgundy lace bustier top. She laced up her boots, shrugged on her leather jacket and exited her bedroom. Derek and Isaac were sat in the living room; it was decorated in the same way as her bedroom but with less extravagant furniture. Derek stood up, looking bored of having to have waited for her to wake up, he handed her a croissant.

"Eat this and let's go."

"Go where?" she asked while nibbling the corner.

"While you were busy being passed out in bed, we researched where the so called New Orleans witches are supposed to reside" replied Derek, with a hint of poison. Antoinette ignored it, she continued tucking into her breakfast waiting for him to continue. "There's no one specific area but they do tend to migrate to the graveyard."

"That's where your ancestor is buried, her husband had her brought back there after she died" Isaac chimed in.

Antoinette nodded slowly taking it all in. "Let's go and get some answers then."

The walk to the graveyard would not have been long, had it not of been for Antoinette getting distracted by practically everything. Usually she was not a fan of jazz but as it echoed through the streets she found herself enjoying it, sometimes humming to it too.

 _This place is magnificent._

Everything was old and had an ancient feel to it, rich with culture and history; she loved that about a place. Things like this fascinated her; it is why she took history in the first place. She never knew her own history would take her here though. She realised the incense was coming from the various magic shops dotted around. Each scent lingered on her senses and coaxed her mind to leave itself and travel to where the scent had come from. Spices from India, heather from meadows and the smell of dew you would find on a summer morning.

Arriving at the graveyard snapped her back to reality; it looked older than the rest of New Orleans and morbid. The three of them strolled through the rows of headstones; some were so antiquated that the writing had worn away through time. The entire scene looked like something straight out of a horror movie and yet Antoinette felt at ease there. Turning a corner, they walked to the end of the alley and found one of the family burial crypts. The name engraved along the top of the marble was _"Deveraux"_ , there was also a snake eating its tail and pagan symbols sculpted down the sides. Antoinette ran her hand along her ancestor's name _"Antoinette Deveraux 1798-1848"_ this was her family's crypt, she closed her eyes and something within her felt the connection.

"Come to pay your respects?" said a voice from behind them.

All three of them spun around to see a woman in her mid-thirties with brunette hair and loose clothing looking at them. This woman had a French accent and regarded the trio intently; her eyes fell upon Antoinette who was standing in the middle of Derek and Isaac. The woman's eyes widened and she bowed her head slightly.

"You have returned Mademoiselle Sorcière Blanche" she said.

"Are you talking to me?" asked Antoinette confused, her English accent thick as ever. "We're here regarding my ancestor to find answers."

"What is your name child?"

"Antoinette Deveraux, and these are my-"

"I'm the elder Lorena" said the woman. "And regarding your ancestor, I assumed you would know."

Antoinette shook her head. "That's why we're here."

"She was a witch" Lorena began, still staring at Antoinette like she was staring into her soul. "Not turn you into a frog witch but a real witch; one of the best too. Born in 1798, not many people know about her early years but they know about her later life and the tragedy that befell her. Most of her magic focussed on healing the sick and good luck and positive charms like well-wishers, that's how she got the name Mademoiselle Sorcière Blanche."

"The White Witch" said Derek.

Lorena nodded. "Antoinette was friends with the New Orleans voudou woman, Marie Laveau. Their friendship turned sour after Renè Deveraux chose Antoinette over Marie. Marie's jealously would only grow, more so in 1818 when the Deveraux's were blessed with a son. Over the years, Marie Laveau's loathing grew which scared Antoinette. Marie cursed Antoinette to have every member of her family and anyone she cared about to die around her in 1945."

Antoinette felt a pit in her stomach, she knew that her family was cursed she just knew it.

"That doesn't explain why she looks exactly like her ancestor" said Derek.

Lorena smiled and this unsettled everyone there. "What do you know about reincarnation?"

"That it doesn't exist" said Isaac.

"Not true wolf, yes I know what you both are. Mademoiselle Sorcière Blanche cast a powerful spell that caused her to touch the darker side of magic before she left for England in 1845; she knew she would die in a matter of years thanks to the curse. She made it so that 150 years after her death, she would be reborn again; hence the ouroboros snake on the crypt. She died in 1848 after sending her husband and son away to avoid the curse from having an effect on them. You are Mademoiselle Socière Blanche."

Antoinette shook her head and stepped back, it could not be true, it was not; that was madness. Her a witch? No way, there was no chance of her being the reincarnation of her ancestor, not by miles. She had heard of wolves and banshees but a reincarnated witch was too ludicrous to consider.

"You're lying" she stated.

"I am not. Is she not your ancestor? Do you not look identical? Your parents never christened you or baptised you. Were you not drawn here? Feel at home here? Do you not understand fluent French?" Antoinette said nothing. "Je sais que tu peux me comprendre, Mademoiselle Socière Blanche."

"What did she say?" asked Isaac.

"I know you can understand me" repeated Antoinette and she looked down swallowing hard. She had never taken a French lesson in her life. Now both wolves looked at her wearing dumbfounded expressions, it seemed they believed Lorena more than she did. "I'm not her, I can't be; I'm just a seventeen year old-"

"You're only seventeen? No wonder you're in denial, you haven't yet awoken; you came too early. No matter, I can rectify the situation."

Lorena beckoned Antoinette over, Derek and Isaac both put defensive stances in front of her but Antoinette was drawn to where Lorena wanted her to go and walked with her into an open crypt. The crypt was lit with only candles and smelt of incense; despite the abundance of candles it was still dark in there. They both sat on the floor opposite each other and Lorena started burning sage before picking up two black candles. She handed one to Antoinette and kept the other, her chanting began, eyes closed, it was not English or French; Antoinette guessed it was Latin or something like that.

Derek and Isaac waited outside, so the little English girl was a witch, made sense why she chose Beacon Hills now. All kinds of the supernatural were drawn to that town so why wouldn't she? A high pitched scream took them by surprise and made them grab their ears. Isaac realised it was Antoinette who was screaming, the pair of them sprung from their spots and tried to get into the crypt only to find an invisible barrier blocking them out.

"Antoinette!" shouted Isaac in frustration.

All they could do was watch as Antoinette started shaking violently like she had no control but kept hold of the candle in her hand tightly. Despite how much she convulsed the flame never extinguished, her eyes rolled back and her mouth opened gasping for air like she was being choked. Lorena's chanting became louder and more prominent with feeling, until suddenly it ceased and a strong wind blew out all of the candles. Antoinette's head drooped, after a moment it rose again; cautious like a child but more like someone waking up for the first time in years. There was something about her that had changed, her mannerisms gone and the way she inspected herself where she sat. She gave a disapproving look to the crimson rose tattoo on the back of her hand and to the dyed hair; she even turned her nose up at the clothes. Lorena started talking to her in French, the only one who did not seem at all confused and Antoinette replied, in French. The pair of the wolves watched as the two witches joined them outside.

"What shall I do with the wolves?" asked Lorena.

"Nothing" said Socière Blanche, her accent French; it made Isaac's eyes pop out of his head. "They have been loyal to this descendant; I may need them in the future."

She walked over to Derek and put her hand to his face but his own whipped out and caught her wrist to stop her. It made the witch smile.

"Touchy one, aren't we?"

"Where's Antoinette" asked Derek not playing to her jaunts.

"I am she."

"Not you" he replied, his red eyes flashing. "Your descendant, bring her back and don't try anything witch because I'll yank your arm off quicker than you could say 'abracadabra'."

"Fine" she sighed. "But I won't be suppressed forever."

She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly. Nearly falling, Antoinette looked around in oblivion, she looked into Isaac's concerned face; he had stopped her from falling. She was back.


	15. Coming of Age

_**A/N: I've had some speculation as to whether Antoinette is going to fall for one of the Beacon Hills characters, so I put it to a poll, which one should it be? Enjoy and review!**_

In the few days they had come back to Beacon Hills, everything had been explained to the others. Antoinette was the reincarnation of her ancestor and would have naturally awoken when she turned eighteen. Today would have been that day. Antoinette stared up at the ceiling and ran the events through her head.

 _Derek walked out of the bathroom of the hotel in jeans, shirtless with his top in his hand and looked at Isaac._

 _"_ _Is she still in there?"_ _Isaac nodded._

 _"She hasn't left her room since we got back from the graveyard." He stood up and pulled his jacket on._

 _"_ _You should go talk to her" said Derek._

 _"_ _I'm going to the jazz bar across the street, you talk to her" he headed for the door._

 _"_ _She's your friend."_

 _Isaac turned to him. "She's part of your pack, which makes her your problem, remember?" he walked out shutting the door behind him._

 _Derek sighed and dropped his top on the chair before walking over to Antoinette's bedroom and knocked._

 _"_ _Go away Isaac, I just want to be left alone" she called, curled up on her bed._

 _"_ _He's gone, actually it's me."_

 _She sat up and looked at the door. "What do you want?"_

 _He took that as a sign he could come in and stood about a metre away from the bed. He did not care that he was shirtless and she did not seem to mind. It was the first time she had seen him shirtless without a dozen slashes across his chest. She tried to focus on anything but his physique but he did not make it easy, his intense eyes intimidated her away from eye contact._

 _"_ _Isaac brought it to my attention that you may be a little upset with all this."_

 _"_ _Upset?" she scoffed. "I'm a freak."_

 _"_ _Does that make me a freak and Isaac too?" he did not give her time to answer. "You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and own it. You're a witch, suck it up and use it to your advantage." He was about to turn but stopped. "You're a strong person, you've overcome suicide, don't let this knock you down."_

 _He turned around and began to walk out and that is when she saw the tattoo of three intersecting spirals for the first time._

 _"_ _Your back, what is that symbol?" she asked standing up and walking over to him carefully touching it._

 _He half turned to her not pulling away just watching her fascination. "It's a triskelion" he said._

 _"_ _What does it mean?" she took her hand away allowing him to turn to face her completely._

 _"_ _Different things but to me it means, alpha, beta and omega; how we can rise to one and fall to another."_

 _"_ _It's beautiful."_

 _It was pointless asking what her tattoo meant; she never gave a definitive answer. He observed her; the spark in her eye was there bright enough to ignite a fire, a quality he had come to admire about her. He was beginning to see why the others cared about her so much, he started to as well. Her eyes carried unspoken loss, the fragile shoulders carrying a burden he doubted anyone knew and her smile held a hidden pain through the light of it._

 _"_ _Isaac is across the street, I think he would like you to join him" he said quickly before withdrawing and briskly walking out._ _Leaving her wondering what she had done to have the sudden retraction of his presence._

* * *

Her mobile rang, snapping her out of her thoughts; she answered it to hear Lydia telling her she was outside waiting for her. Antoinette had completely forgotten that Lydia was meeting her to pick her up and take her shopping. She ripped the duvet cover off of herself and yanked on a pair of jeans and top she found on the floor. Barely sorting out her hair or putting her boots on, she tripped out of her flat and half fell out of the building. Lydia gave her an estranged look when she got in the car. Lydia assumed that Antoinette had overslept or forgotten and did not seem to mind.

The drive to the shopping centre was brief with a little chatter and laughter, they picked up Malia along the way and the usual birthday wishes were exchanged. Dress shopping for an eighteenth birthday was supposed to be fun and although it was not in Antoinette's mood to be happy, she kept an open mind. She felt sad, this was the day she became an adult in the eyes of the law back in England and none of her family were alive to see it. Even so, she smiled and laughed and attempted to have fun at this whole shopping thing.

It seemed fairly easy for Malia and Lydia to choose what they liked, they were good at this. Malia had chosen a royal blue dress which was tight at the top but fell like a cocktail dress. While Lydia had chosen a pastel pink sweet heart neckline that had a waterfall skirt, both dresses falling just above the knee. For Antoinette it was a little more difficult, she was a jeans person, not a dress person. The only dress she had was the white one she wore on that rouse of a date, she was still trying to wash out the stains. The girls had tried to help her choose one, they held up various dresses of various colours and styles but she did not like them or they did not suit her. She let Malia and Lydia go to the changing rooms to try on their dresses while she stayed in a last attempt to find something. Antoinette groaned going through the racks of dresses. Why was this so hard? She picked up a bright red one and held it up to look at it.

"That shade wouldn't suit you" said a voice behind her.

"I know" she sighed.

She recognised the voice and turned around to find out it came from Peter Hale. Immediately she gasped and stepped back, not sure what he wanted. Why did he always pop up when nobody wanted to see him?

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you, I just had to see if it was true" he looked at a photograph in his hand and then at her. "You really are the reincarnation of your ancestor."

She glared at him placing the dress back on the rail. "You're incredibly creepy and your nephew told me you sent the guy at the diner after me, makes me less sorry for tasering you"

"I want you to know that I am genuinely sorry about that."

"He also said you have a terrible habit of trying to manipulate people."

"I'm not trying to do that either" he said grabbing a wine red dress next to him and holding it up to her. "I want you to use the gift you've been given, don't squander it through fear of yourself and her, he white witch."

"I- what are you doing?" she asked irritated and confused.

"Help you, more ways than one it seems. Red suits you, just not the shade you selected, you need a dark colour to contrast with that silver hair of yours and hypnotising green eyes; the strange hints of blue always puzzled me. Then there's the matter of the rose." Peter changed his mind and grabbed another which was black. "Perfect, now my nephew won't be able to take his eyes off of you" he smiled slightly.

"Derek is coming to eighteenth?" she said confused, he hated social gatherings.

"From what I understand, he doesn't have a choice; the Lahey boy is dragging him."

She smiled, sounded exactly like Isaac.

"I know you like him, it's pretty obvious, he has wounds that will never heal, it's not a good idea; guard your heart my dear."

"Isaac and I are just friends."

"I wasn't talking about the Lahey boy, I was talking about Derek."

"Actually I find Derek quite detestable at times" she looked over at Lydia and Malia coming out of the changing rooms. "Excuse me" she walked away to join them.

* * *

The Lakehouse was beautiful and secluded; it was unlikely they would disturb any neighbours with noise because there was no one for miles. Antoinette had showered and re-dyed her hair while she had been there. The others, Stiles, Malia and Scott were downstairs decorating the house before they too began to get ready. Lydia was helping Antoinette get ready and now she stood in a full length mirror to gaze out at the effort.

The dress that peter had picked out was gorgeous, she had to admit. It was black and incredibly tight, it hugged her figure emphasising the tiny waist she had and enhancing her slender figure. A majority of it was stretchy cotton but the lower trim of the skirt, the waistband and the shoulders were a delicate black lace. It came halfway down her thighs and it complemented everything, her hair which was done in a waterfall braid around the left side and a messy bun at the back, the natural colour eyeshadows and black eyeliner even her crimson lipstick. Despite the scars along her arms which she and Lydia had tried to hide, she looked stunning.

The music from the party echoed to upstairs, it was already underway. Both of them headed downstairs and joined their friends, Isaac had arrived with Derek who looked like he wanted to make a break for the exit.

When Isaac saw Antoinette, his eyes nearly popped out of his head and his jaw hit the ground. "You look incredible" he said and gave her a hug. She smiled brightly to him.

"She looks like her number should be on the back of a bathroom door" Derek muttered.

Her smile faded and a heavy silence fell upon the group; that was cruel even for him.

"I'm going to get a drink" Antoinette said before walking off.

Malia whacked Derek and the group scolded him for what he said. Even he had to admit, it was a little harsh even if he felt it was partly true. Antoinette downed a drink, not letting the insult get to her; it was funny that back in England she was of legal drinking age whereas here she was not. It was also funny to her that people seemed to drink away their sorrows; she understood the want to not care, to not feel anything. That's what she decided to do; she danced like no one was watching, sung like no one was listening and laughed like heaven was on earth. Derek was watching her though, from the margins of the party, he was watching. He watched the way she let herself go and she slowly stopped caring about the thoughts of the people around her. She moved her body to the music with her friends; if rhythm was a dancer then she would be rhythm in a more or less clumsier way. By no way was she an amazing dancer but she had a certain aptitude to feel the beat, feel the rhythm, to let it fill her, let it consume her, control her moves with maybe not elegance but something more, something indescribable. The way her hips moved around and around made him see a side to her, he had not seen before but there was the underlying tone that it was all an outlet to the stress she had gone through.

The shots she did with her friends helped her get to the point she wanted, as well as the several other drinks she had through the hours. The heels were making her feet sore but it felt blissful. All her worries were gone, so what she was alone? She had friends, so what she had a witch living within her? She was badass. She had not had this much fun in so long and she did not want it to end, her birthday was way better than she had expected it to be.

The party went into the early hours of the morning until everyone except the group had left. They were all tired, worn out and fairly tipsy except Derek who mostly stayed on the side-lines. Luckily they were going to stay the night at the Lakehouse. Antoinette sat on the kitchen counter with the others, sipping a glass of water. The room was starting to spin, the good part of alcohol coming to an end and beginning to slip into the point of no return. Perhaps she let herself go a little too much.

It was agreed by everyone there, including her that she go back to her flat and come back the next morning. Scott offered to take her on the back of his bike but there was no guarantee that she would not fall asleep and that was dangerous. In the end Derek said he would do it, everyone was sceptical that he would look after her and Isaac tried to protest but Antoinette agreed to it. Stiles, was not entirely convinced she knew what she was agreeing to. With the help of Derek holding onto her as she walked thanks to the overly high heels making it difficult, she managed to get to the Camaro without disasters. She hugged the still worried Isaac who kissed her forehead and told Derek to look after her; it was more like a threat.

Antoinette did not really feel the time of the car journey; it felt like they were at the Lakehouse one minute and outside the building of flats the next. Once they were in her flat, Antoinette kicked off her heels and Derek opened her draw and chucked her a t-shirt and pyjama shorts.

"Get changed" he headed into the kitchen to give her privacy.

She poked her tongue out at him after he walked out but did as he said and changed, nearly falling over while doing it and left her underwear and dress on the floor. Derek walked back in with a large glass of water and practically shoved it in her hands.

"Drink this."

She sat on her bed and sipped it frowning grumpily at him; her makeup had stayed on pretty well.

"You're bossy" she paused. "And mean." Derek sighed; he was not in the mood for this. "What you said about me looking like a hooker really hurt and not only that, you're being cold even now."

His attitude softened and he regarded her with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said, and I don't even know why I said it. You won't remember this in the morning so the truth is, you looked enchanting tonight and anyone would be lucky to have you in their lives."

She smiled brightly, a spark in her eye appearing again, he dared himself a little smile as well and refilled the glass once she had finished and placed it on the bedside table.

"You should sleep, call me if you need anything" he paced towards the door.

Her hand whipped out and grabbed his lightly and he stopped. She was barely awake but the hint was clear, _stay._ Derek sighed, he did not want to stay but at the same time he could not leave her alone. She stayed for him when he was healing, it would not hurt to do the same. He paced over to the sofa and slumped into it, Antoinette's breathing had changed; it was slower with deeper intervals. Derek fell asleep a little later after trying to fight it to make sure she was okay.


	16. Emotional Connection

_**A/N: Hey readers! I did not expect for this chapter to take so long to be uploaded, it has been written for ages but I just went through a phase of losing motivation in my life about everything, thankfully my other half kicked me out of it. The poll is still open, I've had two suggestions, keep telling me who you want her to end up with. Read, enjoy and review!**_

Derek awoke to the smell of bacon and pancakes, Catfish and the Bottleman was playing in the background. He looked over at the bed, empty with the duvet in a crumpled heap. A humming was coming from the kitchen area; he craned his neck which was stiff from the sleeping position. He saw Antoinette making breakfast; she was still in her pyjama top and shorts humming to the song and shaking her hips and butt as she flipped the pancake. The whole scenario was adorable and entertaining to witness; it was nice to see her in her natural habitat where she was comfortable to be herself.

As she bounced around the kitchen to grab the eggs, he realised that he forgot that she was a relatively normal adolescent; worried about finals and her future. What did she want to do with her life? What could she do? She was a supernatural being now, that would rule her life forever. Derek did not want that for her, not in this moment. In this moment, he wanted her to do whatever she wanted; to follow her heart up mountains or down rivers or across seas. He wanted her to live to her potential, it is what she deserved.

"I hope you're hungry, I made a lot."

Derek's smile faded when he heard the French accent.

Mademoiselle Socière Blanche walked over with a plate of fluffy pancakes, a side of bacon and egg. Derek gave her a death glare as he stood up and crossed his arms. The witch sighed and placed the plate on the coffee table nearby.

"I'm not going to hurt you Derek Hale; I have no desire to make enemies here."

"Doesn't mean you won't get them."

"True enough, you'll soon learn that I am a good person, I help people not harm them unlike Marie Laveu."

"You mean the green eyed witch bitch that destroyed your love, yeah heard that sob story. Bring back Antoinette."

"This is my body, I waited 150 years for it; I earned it."

Derek grabbed her by the throat and flipped her onto the sofa squeezing her neck. "Don't make me kill you" his eyes flashed red.

"You halfwit" she laughed. "If you kill me then your precious pack member dies too." Derek retracted and stepped back. "I'm here to stay so suck it up and deal with it and I know you're all trying to get her to learn magic, just know that she will never be as strong unless I am the one doing it."

"We'll take our chances."

"Her funeral" Mademoiselle Socière Blanche closed her eyes and exhaled slowly and went limp. Antoinette opened her eyes and stood up swaying slightly as she held her head.

"Are you alright?" Derek asked.

"I need a glass of water and painkillers" she groaned and walked off.

Derek chuckled. "I guess the white witch was suppressing your hangover."

"Shut up" she snapped fumbling with the packaging.

Antoinette pulled on some clothes, nothing special more for comfort. She opened the curtains and hissed at the bright light flooding in and flopped about like a fish. The whole spectacle made Derek sigh and roll his eyes. He had to admit it was amusing to watch though. Antoinette pulled the hood low over her head before they finally headed out of the flat; she soon decided that sunglasses were a good option.

While on the drive back to the Lakehouse, Derek took it upon himself to torment her. He turned the radio on really loud and when she asked him to turn it off, he turned it up. She was certain that she was going to lose her breakfast and made him pull over so she could.

"You really let yourself go last night, any reason why?" said Derek leaning against the car.

"It was my birthday" she replied falling back into the seat, she looked awful.

"Smile Antoinette Deveraux, someone could be falling in love with you."

He started driving again; he heard her heartrate rise when she spoke to him. He wanted to speak up and make her tell the truth but looking at her from the corner of hi eye, it did not look like she was functioning at half capacity.

When they arrived at the Lakehouse everyone else looked just as rough as she did. Lydia made coffee for everyone and handed out a simple lunch, which Antoinette nibbled carefully. After a while everyone began to perk up again and then excitement grew as Scott brought out a large present. It was wrapped in black paper with red roses on; he handed it to Antoinette who smiled.

"We all chipped in to get it, we hoped you could use it to help you with-"

"Just open it before Scott gives away the surprise" said Lydia.

Antoinette carefully peeled away the paper, she did not want to rip it; it was too pretty to waste. She looked at what her friends had given her; a thick faded leather bound book that looked to be a century old rest on her lap. The pages were dry and had old ink scribblings; it was a spell book, a genuine one. Antoinette's eyes widened, she did not know how to feel about it, she felt excitement but also fear.

"Thank you, this is brilliant, it must have cost a fortune."

"I found it online and everyone helped to pay for it" said Stiles.

"Derek paid the most" added Scott.

 _He did?_ Antoinette turned to look at Derek who just shrugged.

"Give it a try" said Malia. "Find a simple spell and practice."

Antoinette turned the pages and found a spell to manipulate fire and grabbed the candelabra from the table and set it onto the floor. The language of the book was mostly Latin, especially for the incantations but this was seemingly easy; just one word.

She held her hand out in front of the candelabra and cleared her throat. "Ignis." Nothing happened and she dropped her hand down in disappointment.

 _"_ _That was pathetic."_

She groaned. "Shut up."

"No one said anything" said Stiles. Antoinette looked at him perplexed. "Wait is your ancestor talking to you?" he asked and she nodded.

"She's like a voice in the back of my head, mostly trying to make me let her in but other than that just general conversation. All she wants is to live her life again, she isn't the enemy, she just finds it funny I can't tap into my magic."

 _"_ _You need a catalyst."_

"Perhaps it's emotional" Lydia offered.

 _"_ _Ginger has the right idea."_

"I got my powers from getting bitten by Peter, that was the catalyst but I did the rest myself. Try linking it to an emotional connection you have to something or someone."

 _"_ _Like the feelings for that wolf you're denying you have."_ _Shut up Antoinette._ _"_ _Try it, I bet it works, concentrate on how he makes you feel."_

Antoinette took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she cleared her head and focused on one thing, once again she raised her left hand to the candelabra. Still focussing on the emotional connection she breathed the incantation. "Ignis." The rose tattoo glowed slightly and there was a flash of fire, not just on the candles but the fireplace too.

 _"_ _What did I tell you? Might want to start listening to me more often and admit those feelings you're storing up."_

Antoinette smiled brightly, she felt so proud of herself. The flames danced in front of her and the others looked impressed and just as proud of her. Except Derek who was now eyeing her up, not as a person, not as a friend or pack member but as a weapon. Something to enhance and use to his advantage when the time came to it. She did not like that look and she did not like being used at all, let alone as a pawn.

"Keep practicing, you got work to do" he said and walked out of the room.

Scott noticed Antoinette's reaction and followed him out of the room until they were not within listening distance.

"What the hell was that?" asked Scott. "You just spoke to her like she was a soldier to command not a friend; that was cold."

"I'm sorry, I fail to see a problem" Derek replied. "Oh I see what's going on here."

Derek crossed his arms and looked at Scott impatiently. "Do you now?"

"Yes, you start showing less emotion and distance yourself when you start allowing yourself to care again, to have feelings" Scott looked at him but Derek said nothing. "She is not Kate Argent or Jennifer and she does not need your cold hostility anymore."

Derek shot him a glare. "I don't-"

"You're only lying to yourself, is it such a bad thing that you feel something? Just let it in."

Before Derek had a chance to reply, Stiles' police scanner sounded with an officer saying _"Sheriff we got a 11-60 down on the highway, going to need the morgue team."_


	17. Bite in the Night

_**A/N: This chapter starts a new story arc that will last roughly 4 chapters possibly more if I feel the need, poll is still open, will be closing it on chapter 19 though. Just wanted to thank those that have been reading since chapter 1 and reviewed and been with me and Antoinette this far, means a lot. Keep reading, review and enjoy! :3**_

Confusion rose in the Lakehouse, Scott and Derek returned to the living room to find Lydia questioning Marie Laveu's curse and why Antoinette's family were still alive. Both Antoinette and Isaac had done everything to try to diffuse the situation but Lydia was having none of it. Luckily the subject was changed to Stiles' police radio and now the confusion was shared.

"The code was 11-60" said Scott. "What is that?"

"11-60, that's an animal attack" Stiles replied.

Scott and Derek looked to each other. "You don't think a stray wolf could have killed someone do you?" asked Scott.

"Full moon isn't for another few days but it's worth checking out, it's not unheard of for us to go rabid especially if poisoned by wolf's bane" Derek explained leaning against the wall.

The gang gathered their bearings and packed into the three cars; Stiles' jeep, Derek's Camaro and Lydia's four by four. The drive although short was too long for Antoinette's liking, she had her ancestor muttering about in her head like there was no tomorrow.

 _"Why didn't you tell them the truth_?"

 _Stop it._

 _"You're going to have to tell them eventually you know."_

 _Give it a rest._

 _"That the curse killed your family too."_

"I said give it a rest!" she shouted out loud which caused Malia and Lydia to stare at her.

Thankfully they knew what was going on, any other person would think she was crazy and that she had escaped the psychiatric ward.

"We need to find a way to block her out" said Malia.

Antoinette muttered in agreement and rested her head against the window for the remainder of the journey.

When they arrived at the highway, the entire road was closed off. It looked like a scene from CSI; police tape cut off the area and a blood stained, white sheet covered a body while a body bag was prepared. Stiles' father, Sheriff Stilinski was there talking to Deputy Parish about the incident, neither looked convinced it was a casual animal attack. In earshot, the wolves managed to pick up fragments of the conversation; bits about how it was the third one in the last fortnight but there was something odd about the bodies. Sheriff Stilinski looked over at the three cars but only spotted Stiles' Jeep.

"I see you Stiles! Go home and stop being you, take your friends with you! They're usually not far behind."

"Busted" said Lydia as they started driving away. "Where now?"

"Just got a text from Isaac, he and Derek are going to the morgue to check out the other two victims and find out what it is, we're to go to the sourwolf's loft and wait" said Antoinette as she looked down at her phone.

* * *

Getting to the hospital was the easy journey, getting to the morgue was the harder part. They could call on Scott's mother but she would ask a lot of questions and get worried and that's not what they needed right now. The morgue was located in the basement, so they needed to look like they knew what they were doing in order to sneak in. Isaac strolled into the lift with Derek and pressed the button, the doors closed and the lift started its descent. So far so good.

"What did Scott say to you at the Lakehouse?" asked Isaac.

"Why?" Derek frowned.

"Just making conversation."

"Don't" Derek said.

The rest of the journey was done in silence. When the doors opened, they had hit their first snag. A woman sat at a desk guarding the entrance to the morgue, a receptionist of sorts to wait on the dead.

"Now what?" asked Isaac.

"Relax, let me handle this."

The pair of them walked up to the receptionist, she did not look at them. "Name and pass please."

"Ah, we seem to have left them somewhere" said Derek. The receptionist looked up at him and stopped suddenly. "Hi" he put on a false smile.

"Hi" she replied taking the bait and smiled back.

"I can't believe they keep someone as beautiful as you down here."

She smiled wider and played with a blonde curl. "Can I help you with something?"

"See, we really need to get into the morgue to check a couple of bodies for our mentor, we're medical students you see but we left our passes with him, typical us."

"I really shouldn't-"

"I'm sure we can come to some arrangement" he said slipping her a piece of paper with a number on it.

She eyed the paper before taking it and letting them pass and Derek smiled again before heading into the room.

"Was that your real number?" Isaac asked.

"Of course not, get to work" replied Derek as he picked up a clipboard and read off of it.

They wheeled out the bodies and opened the bags they were in. Deep bite marks were visible on both victims, it really did look like an animal attack but upon reading the autopsy reports, they found a different story. Both bodies were drained of blood and there were no visible signs of mauling, the kind you would expect from an animal or werewolf attack.

"Call the others" said Derek. "We have a vampire problem."

* * *

Once Isaac and Derek arrived back at the loft, they found everyone researching either on Stiles' laptop or their phones about vampire lore. What their weaknesses were, what their strengths were and where they were most likely to reside. The only problem was; there was so much lore. Thanks to the industry of monster movies and Twilight, there was no knowing the truth. Some said garlic was a weapon and that they repelled crosses; other websites said that was a load of rubbish and said to use holy water and cut off the heads to kill them. Apparently a stake was useless but other sources said stakes were the best way to kill them. Either way, all lore pointed to one fact; they all hated the sun.

Antoinette rubbed her eyes and yawned, it was beginning to get dark and she was so tired. She decided to call it a night when her head rolled off her arm and nearly hit the chair. The others had let her doze off while they continued to work, but now she just gave up and grabbed her jacket.

"I'll see you all tomorrow" she said.

"You should probably take someone with you" said Derek.

"I think I'll be fine, I can practice my magic without demands" she added a curt smile before leaving.

"Wow, she hates you" laughed Isaac.

"Follow her, make sure she's okay" Derek huffed.

Isaac stood up pulling on his own jacket. "I will, but only because I'm worried about her, not because you ordered me to."

"You know, you would have thought he would have learnt people skills by now" said Stiles. Derek flashed his alpha eyes at him threateningly. "I'm shutting up" Stiles returned his attention to the laptop.

* * *

Antoinette would be glad when she got home, she could crash into bed and recharge; her birthday had ended in a bang with vampires rolling into town. This world was crazy and she was part of it all; werewolves, witches, vampires, what was next? Unicorns? She sighed defeatedly while rummaging through her pockets to look for the key to let her into the building and make her ascent to her flat.

Frustration began to set in. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders from behind and spun her around slamming her against the door and holding her in place. Too stunned to scream, Antoinette stared at her attacker dead in the eyes, the fiery reddish orange lulled her into passivity. Although her heart was pounding and her breathing was erratic, she felt the rigidness of her body slacken and as much as she wanted to, she could not look away from those hell fire eyes. Her attacker then bared its fangs; they were not straight and pointed like most movies would have you believe. They were jagged razors that glistened in the acute light of the night. If she could have run, she would have but she felt compelled to stay, even after the monstrous incisors broke the delicate skin on her neck. Only then did she let out a blood curdling scream that pierced the silence of the night.

A growl came from the side and Isaac launched himself on the vampire throwing it away from Antoinette, his wolf features and golden eyes visible. The vampire got up and hissed at Isaac, baring its fangs at him; Isaac growled again, this time more threateningly, his claws ready to strike. The vampire thought better of it and ran off into the darkness, allowing Isaac to turn his attention to Antoinette. She was on the floor after falling down when the vampire had let her go. Holding her neck in pitiful attempt to stop the bleeding, she grabbed Isaac who helped her up.

"We need to get you to the hospital" he said.

She shook her head. "Flat… Get me in the flat… Ancestor can help" it was painful to talk and difficult too.

Isaac nodded and aided her into the flat, carefully sitting her on the sofa. Antoinette closed her eyes and breathed her ancestor's name. Mademoiselle Socière Blanche's eyes shot open and she breathed heavily. Isaac just watched as the witch emptied the contents on Antoinette's bag onto the floor and snatched up the spell book. Frantically flipping pages while still applying pressure to her neck, she found the spell she needed. She took her hand away from her neck but hovered both in front of the haemorrhaging wound, her head at an angle and her fingers spread out.

"Curare" her French accent was clear.

Her hands filled with a blinding light that made Isaac shield his eyes but healed the wound completely. Mademoiselle Socière Blanche touched her neck to make sure that it had worked before heading into the kitchen to wash her hands.

"That girl is going to get us both killed, she's lucky I can do magic on command; a spell like that would take her weeks to practice."

"Great, now bring her back" said Isaac.

"Absolutely not, I'm here until morning."

"Then I'll stay with you until then."

"Wouldn't have it any other way" she winked to him.

* * *

 _Axel burst into the net with blood smeared all across his mouth, he looked startled. His brethren regarded him with concern; evidence suggested he did not finish the hunt, very unlike him. Something must have happened for him to abandon the mission._

 _"Where is Isidore?" cried Axel. "I need to speak with him urgently."_

 _The vampire Isidore was fierce, it was the dark that was scared of him, his cult of vampires followed devotedly and in return he kept them fed and safe._

 _"What is it, Axel? What happened?"_

 _"I think I have found a solution to the sunlight curse."_

 _This peaked the vampire's attention and Isidore straightened the black tie of his crisp charcoal suit._

 _"Tell me more."_

 _"The target I was going to kill for us is a witch descendent from the Laveu voudou witch I believe."_

 _"Where is she? Why not bring her back here?"_

 _"She is protected by werewolves, sir."_

 _Isidore's lip curled in anger and disgust at the word, he turned his back on Axel and thought for a few moments before he turned back around._

 _"Then we go get the witch tomorrow night, this time together" he smiled menacingly._


	18. Flood Gates

**_A/N: Next part of the story arc is here! A bit more action in this one and roller-coaster of emotions to be had. Was very difficult to actually write this because I got my Triskele tattoo on my wrist and it hurt to type XD perhaps I should invest with hands free. Hope you enjoy. Enjoy and review!_**

Mademoiselle Socière Blanche and Isaac had stayed up most of the night, not really doing anything except talking. They spoke about a great many things, Isaac's past and how he became a wolf. Her past and the many stories she had to tell. She spoke of her husband and how they met, the man that would unintentionally tear her and Marie Laveu apart. Marie Laveu had courted her husband before she did. However, he broke it off with Marie soon after he found out what she was. It was then that she told Isaac that she met her husband while healing a sick child, his nephew. She was open with him, told him what she was and what she did, he still did not care and that was the start of it. Mademoiselle Socière Blanche had told Isaac that he reminded her of her husband and the way he was so kind and honest. There had been a long moment of silence between them before she placed a tender kiss to his lips.

Now Antoinette was back with the English accent and she remembered and saw everything. She was not sure if Isaac realised that her ancestor was not her, and even if she was a reincarnation of her ancestor, she was not actually her. They were completely different people. When Isaac woke up on top of the bed, he found Antoinette standing in a towel with her hair wet. He sat up and looked at her awkwardly.

"About last night…" he began.

"Don't worry about it, Isaac. It was just a kiss and as long as you realise me and her are two different people then I see no harm done."

 _"Jealous it wasn't you?"_

 _I'll deal with you later, bitch._

Isaac nodded and hopped off of the bed. "I'll give you some privacy to get changed." He headed into the kitchen.

Antoinette pulled on a pair of white ripped jeans and a black, floaty boat neck top that had a paint splash design in white. Her usual accessories followed; a mess of corded bracelets, a simple choker and longer necklace that had a feather in a bottle as a pendant. She had fastened her black rose earrings and started her makeup when Isaac came back in. she had just finished applying a matte red to her lips when her phone rang.

It was Lydia, she was panicking a lot, and it was difficult to understand her properly. What Antoinette could make out was that she had begun driving to Derek's loft after waking up late but ended up outside an old theatre. Nothing wrong there, it was only when she started driving again that she ended up at the school and found a dead body in the car park.

"Calm down, call Stiles; Isaac and I will be there soon. Hang in there Lyd" she hung up. "There's been another one, we need to go, text the sourwolf." Antoinette shrugged on her leather jacket and grabbed her keys and phone stuffing them both into her pockets.

Malia and Stiles were already there comforting Lydia, all of this took tolls on her; the others knew that. After parking the Mini, Isaac and Antoinette joined the three of them by Lydia's vehicle. Stiles had called Scott about the situation; he was back at the loft with Derek. Antoinette did not realise it was so late in the afternoon; she had slept a long time thanks to Isaac and her ancestor talking all night.

Derek and Scott arrived soon after; Lydia was calm again and no longer freaking out as badly as she was before. The group discussion began, Isaac tended to avoid talking to Antoinette or even making eye contact with her. Something the others noticed and Derek called them up on it.

"What's up with you two? Usually you're thick as thieves but you're acting really awkward with each other."

"No we're not, it's fine; we're fine" Isaac said quickly.

Antoinette rolled her eyes. "He kissed the white witch."

Scott's eyes bulged but Derek just crossed his arms remaining as emotionless as possible but Antoinette saw a hint of irritation there.

"Why was she in control in the first place?" he asked.

"I was attacked by one of the vampires; Isaac scared it off but not before it took a chunk out of my neck. I knew my magic wouldn't be strong enough and I was bleeding out, my ancestor healed us."

"Us?" Derek seemed repulsed by the word.

"Wait, you got close to one?" Scott interrupted. "What are they like?"

"Scary; pasty white skin, freaky looking fiery eyes and ugly jagged fangs. It had this thing where it looked right into me and I felt the world go dark, Almost like it was knocking me out. My legs went weak and I felt my whole body relax to the point he was holding me up. It must be a predator thing."

"Well done Toni" said Malia. "You managed to dance with death and live to tell the tale."

"Again" added Derek sourly.

The victim in the car park had the same MO as the others; throat ripped out and drained of blood. Another vampire hit with no idea where the nest was or how many there were or any leads other than the one Antoinette gave them. They were just about ready to call the sheriff when all of the wolves perked their heads up, exchanging glances to one another.

"You smell that?" asked Scott.

The others nodded.

"Blood" said Derek.

Lydia started walking towards the school and after estranged looks, the others followed her.

"All aboard the Banshee train" muttered Isaac.

Lydia led them into the school gym where another body lied in the middle of the floor in a pool of blood. It was dark in the gym, the sun was beginning to go down and they were stuck in awful duskiness.

"Lumina" said Antoinette.

Her rose tattoo glowed and the gym lights flickered on.

 _"You're getting good at using that emotional connection. Perhaps you should tell him now."_

 _I will end you_

 _"You love me."_

 _You're sorely mistaken._

"The body is still warm" said Scott.

Antoinette blinked coming away from the irritating voice in her head, she saw Stiles a bit away from the body. He did not look so good, he was very pale, poor him. Blood did not faze her anymore, she had seen enough of her own and a couple of other's to care anymore. The tone of the conversation changed, something was wrong, seriously wrong.

"We need to get out of here" said Derek.

"Why? What's going on?" she asked.

"The body is fresh, they're still here."

"Look out!" screamed Lydia.

There was a flash of movement and a vampire pounced from nowhere and took Derek out. The pair of them rolled on the floor trying to fight it out. A power surge blew the lights out and more vampires advanced, the wolves flicked their claws out and attacked. Derek kicked the vampire away from him and scrambled up.

"Run!" he half pushed Antoinette.

Stiles grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the exit with Lydia but a large vampire blocked their escape. Lydia pushed her hands forward as she screamed and sent the vampire flying with her shockwave. The trio continued their escape but Antoinette stopped at the door, earning confused looks from her friends.

"You go, I think I can help" she said.

"That's suicide, come on" replied Stiles urgently.

"There's too many of them for the others to defeat and it's not full moon. Add a little witch magic, we might stand a chance."

"But you're not strong enough yet."

"She's right Stiles, they need her help" Lydia cut in.

"If we're not all out in five minutes, drive off." With that Antoinette ran back towards the gym.

 _"Nice plan but how are you going to tap into your magic when it takes you so long to focus on your connection? Perhaps finally admit to yourself what you feel."_

 _They're in danger, that's all the motivation I need._

 _"That's my girl."_

Antoinette charged back into the gym and saw Malia get thrown into the wall, her body slackened and she did not get back up but the vampire continued to advance. Derek had one by the throat and Scott was brawling with another but Isaac was pinned under another on the floor.

 _"Do it now!"_

"Incendo!"

The red rose on her hand glowed as she swept her arm slowly to the side causing a wall of fire between Malia and the vampire. It hissed in disgust and turned its attention to her, she pushed her hand toward him and the flames licked at his feet. She flicked her left arm out to the side with her fingers outstretched and held it there.

"Confringes."

All glass in the gym shattered and an axe from a fire safety box flew into her palm. She ran at the vampire over Isaac and plunged the axe into its back. It howled in pain and writhed to get it out. Antoinette pulled Isaac to his feet, who then ran over to Malia and helped her up. The vampires had regrouped at one end of the gym and did not look like they were going to give up.

"Manipulare."

Antoinette branched out her arms, her tattoo glowing hot as the shards of glass rose into the air. She curled her fingers making each shard fall into line.

"When I say run, we run." She pulled her arm back to gain momentum before thrusting it forward. "Now!"

The shards flew at the vampires while the wolves and Antoinette escaped. Derek got into the passenger side of Antoinette's Mini and looked back at the school. The vampires darted out and snarled charging for the car. Like the others, Antoinette slammed on the accelerator and sped off down the road.

"How did you manage to do all that" asked Derek.

 _"She finally opened the flood gates and gave in to some serious feelings she's been denying."_

 _I have not._

 _"You're only lying to yourself, you know you have."_

"I just concentrated really hard I guess."

 _"Not even I believe that."_

Derek looked at her disbelievingly. "Right…"

Axel stood to the side of the road, he saw the headlights up ahead in the night time, and they were getting closer at an alarming rate. He was calm, he smiled; the plan was coming together nicely. The sunlight curse would soon be on its way to being over. Then no longer would they need to hide in the dark and hunt at night.

Antoinette looked ahead, nothing. She blinked and saw the vampire ahead too late. It came out of nowhere, not there one minute, there the next second.

"Shit" she cried and jerked the steering wheel to the side to avoid it.

The car swerved and lost balance, it turned and rolled down the road on its side. Antoinette screamed as she braced herself, glass and carnage from the car flying in all directions around them. The car smashed into a tree on the side of the road where it parked itself upside down. Flames licked at the engine and the beaten up Mini filled with smoke. Derek winced as his cuts healed up and looked over to Antoinette; she was unconscious and he smelt her blood. Kicking his door open, he clambered out and looked around but Axel was nowhere to be seen. He rushed to the other side of the car and ripped the door off, the flames quickly making their way to the fuel tank. He cut the seat belt using his claws before dragging Antoinette out of the car and away. Just in time too, the car exploded causing the pair of them to tumble across the tarmac.

"Antoinette." Derek checked over her, heart beat and still breathing. "Thank god."

Apart from cuts and bruises, she was relatively unharmed. Wait, no; he saw a large splinter of metal protruding from her right side, close to the liver. Derek looked at her with great concern, fear for her life flooded him and he picked her unconscious body up.

"Hang in there" he whispered.

Bursting into the hospital, Derek called for a doctor and lied Antoinette down on a bed as she was rushed into theatre.

* * *

Antoinette blinked her eyes open expecting to be in the afterlife but found agony in her side, a heart monitor beeping and Derek by her bedside. Her movement aroused him from his thoughts and he looked up at her.

"Where am I?"

"Hospital, you've been out most of the night and day. The others came back to check on you but are busy trying to find the nest." He said playing with the sheet on the bed, she moved her hand onto one of his and he looked into her eyes.

The flecks of blue were more prominent than usual.

"Thank you for helping me" she said softly.

Derek shrugged. "Just protecting my investment."

She smiled slightly. "I remember what you said on my birthday about how anyone would be lucky to have me in their lives." He looked confused crossed with alarm. "I was drunk but not _that_ drunk, I thought it was sweet."

He looked down at her hand and gently traced his thumb over one of her scars on her wrist.

"Extraordinary little rose" he breathed.

Mellissa McCall walked in to check on Antoinette and Derek leaned back in the chair to retract any contact with Antoinette, returning to grumpy cat mode. The sudden closure of all emotion made Antoinette sigh and he hardly looked at her for the rest of the day. Pushed away again. Even when she was discharged and he gave her the clothes that Lydia had picked out for her, he was distant. A pair of black leather lace up leggings with lace thighs and black tank top with Harley Quinn as the design. She winced as she bent down to lace up her boots with the buckles and zips design and after pulling on her jacket, she allowed Derek to take her home.

"You going to be alright to stay by yourself tonight?"

"You sure that's a good idea?" she asked.

"The vampires know where I live; I was attacked where you're standing. I have a feeling the car crash was planned too."

"I'll have Isaac come over; maybe he and you can finish what she started the other night."

Antoinette sighed; she was too weak and tired for this. "Derek, it was the white witch not me, although I am her reincarnation, we are two different people. Isaac and I are just friends." Her heart ached not being able to tell the truth.

"Shut up" he said.

"No, you need to hear what I have to say."

"I said shut up."

His low growl echoed off of the building wall and he allowed his red alpha eyes to be visible. The wind whipped at Antoinette's hair as she looked into the darkness. Once again something did not feel right. Axel and another vampire, Eldon, sped out of the black and attacked the pair of them. Derek could not fight the pair of them alone; he struggled with Eldon while Axel grabbed Antoinette. Axel bit into her neck and she let out a liquid scream which diverted Derek's attention to away from Eldon to trying to protect her. Eldon blew a powder at Derek and he became weaker, clumsy and sank to the floor motionless. Axel pulled away from Antoinette, careful not to sever the artery like last time.

"This is the Laveu witch, let's go."

"Incen-"

Axel slammed her head against the wall knocking her out before she could finish her spell.

"None of that" he muttered.

He nodded to Eldon and they carried her off into the darkness.


	19. Sunlight Rescue

_**A/N: Fresh chapter straight off the keyboard, full of action and revelations so I hope you enjoy, nearly finished the next chapter too! The poll I started a couple of chapters ago is null and void as I've made up my mind, all to come in chapter 20. Enjoy and leave me a review letting me know what you think. XD**_

 _William Deveraux sipped his tea while reading his book at the dinner table, the ebony dressed in a table cloth to protect it. He was making the most of the peace of his home in London with his daughter. He really hoped his next posting would end before her eighteenth in the spring time or maybe be allowed to take leave to visit. It was those two against the world and his little rose was entertaining the idea of getting a tattoo._

 _"_ _Antoinette, over my dead body" he said with a smile._

 _"_ _Come on, your lieutenant can do it, you're always inviting him to dinner."_

 _"_ _Because he's my friend."_

 _"_ _Dad, I'm going to be an adult, please treat me like one."_

 _"_ _My darling, I already do, you're so grown up, taking care of yourself the way you do when I'm gone."_

 _Antoinette ran a hand through her luscious silver hair. "I hate it when you leave; I get lonely and miss you."_

 _Lieutenant Colonel Deveraux's face softened and he pulled her forward and kissed the top of her head. "I miss you too, but I'll be back before you know it, je t'aime."_

 _"_ _Je t'aime, father."_

Muffled murmurs reverberated against the pounding in her head and for once it was not because of her ancestor. When she finally braved opening her eyes, Antoinette was not sure whether they were still closed. It was so dark that she could just make out the furniture. Lights flickered on making her flinch and that was when she heard the clank of metal. As oblivion sank away and she came to her senses, she realised her hands were shackled above her head, suspended from the ceiling. Her body went rigid but the cloth between her teeth stopped her from crying out in shock. In her disorientation she tried to remember then events of the night. Hospital, being taken home by Derek, vampires; they were attacked, she was taken. Panic took over and she began to struggle even though she could not get out, she only stopped when she heard movement. A vampire in a crisp black suit and menacing smile came out of the shadows followed by Eldon and Axel.

"Surely by now you would realise that, that isn't working." She glared at him. "I apologise for the treatment but I know your magic is linked to the words you say and I heard about what you did back at the school." Isidore walked over to her and ran his fingertips along the wound on her neck, Antoinette shuddered. "Relax; if I wanted you dead then you would be already. My name is Isidore and I'm the vampire in charge here, under my orders no one else is allowed to hurt you unless you don't behave."

He continued to walk around behind her and breathed in the scent of her hair causing his eyes to flare up. She guessed that he was not used to showing such restraint and that every part of him wanted to tear her neck open.

"Being vampires, the sunlight burns us; the only other way to kill us is by staking us with a particular type of wood. Here's the deal, use your magic and fix the sunlight curse and we'll let you live, refuse and we'll kill you where you're hung."

Even if she had no idea what she was doing, at least it would give her some time to practice an attack spell and for her friends to find her. Antoinette gave Isidore a small nod.

"Excellent" he exclaimed.

He broke the chains and she fell onto her hands and knees, she winced as she pulled the gag out of her mouth; quickly realising the fall had popped some of her stitches.

"If I hear any Latin, I will rip your head off Miss Laveu."

Antoinette frowned as she stood up but said nothing about his blunder. "Where will you have me work?"

"Axel and Eldon will take you to the basement below the movie theatre where there is a workshop set out for you; they will watch you until you are done."

"I also require something for the stitches that ripped, from the car crash you caused."

"I'll see to it" Isidore nodded to Axel.

Axel and Eldon lead her down; the basement smelt of damp and was lit by several candles offering poor light. The entire scene looked like something out of a medieval fantasy novel. The room had been turned into what appeared to be an alchemy lab. Shelves of leather books were messily stacked; all of them spell books or lore about the supernatural. Antoinette quickly got to work but not for a way to break the curse, she looked for a way to enhance the power of the sun or send a message to her friends.

 _"_ _You know you won't be strong enough to pull off something like this even if you find it."_

 _I know, but I can try._

 _"_ _You know what you might have to do right? Are you prepared to do that?"_

 _Yes._

* * *

"What do you mean she's gone?" asked Isaac at Derek's loft.

The others looked rather perplexed.

"She was taken by them" Derek replied holding up her phone.

"You were supposed to be looking after her" Isaac exclaimed. "She could be dead!"

"They took me down with wolfs bane powder, it was executed. They wanted us to split up at the school, everything was staged and we fell right into it."

"They wanted this" said Scott.

"Which means they wanted her" added Stiles. "She's still alive."

"I grabbed a top from her flat to track her scent but I can't follow it properly because it's drowned with death. We find the nest we find her" said Derek.

Lydia looked at the phone sat on the table and walked over to it. Her fingertips brushed the surface and she in haled sharply. It appeared as though a connection was made between her and the phone and she went into full on banshee mode. Images flashed across her eyes and in her mind. A dark haired and terribly bleached haired vampire stood over the unconscious Antoinette. They took her phone out of her pocket and chucked it on the floor. After picking Antoinette up they headed off towards the exit of the town.

"Lydia, are you okay?" asked Malia, close to her face.

Lydia blinked like she just noticed Malia's presence before her and nodded. "They headed to the outskirts of town, we should start there."

"How did you manage to pick that up when Toni isn't dead?" asked Stiles.

"The vampire who touched the phone is, they all are."

"We're too busy focussing on Toni's scent when maybe we should try following the stench of death until we get close to track her" Scott offered.

The others gave murmurs of agreement but Derek just stared at the phone feeling a twang off guilt for not being able to stop the vampires in the first place.

* * *

Antoinette had found it, at last after hours of searching and hours of nattering from the White Witch telling her to hurry up. The spell to harness the power of the sun and send these blood suckers back to hell. She had to be careful though; Axel had already caught her trying to send a distress signal; for which he nearly broke her wrist for. She was tired and hungry and she was weak from her body trying to heal he natural way. Simple spells to build her magical strength up again were her main focus much to her ancestor's disgust. Before her sat a dead rose, she held her left hand spread out in front of it and took a deep breath.

"Vitae" her tattoo glowed but nothing happened. She concentrated harder. "Vitae" this time as her tattoo glowed, the rose became bright and lively again. She grabbed the table to stop herself falling, she felt so faint.

 _"_ _How are you going to pull off the sunlight enhancer when a simple life spell is taking everything out of you?"_

 _I'm trying to build my strength back up._

"Oi, get back to work" shouted Axel.

"Oi, how about you get me something to eat? I need my strength in order to break your stupid curse" Antoinette shouted back.

"Eldon, go get her some food."

Eldon rolled his eyes and headed out of the basement. Antoinette turned her attention to the main spell and read through it again.

 _"_ _How long do you think it will be before he realises you're not practicing the spell they want?"_

 _Hopefully long enough for Scott and the others to find me._

 _"_ _Better hope they hurry up because he's starting to look suspicious."_

* * *

As promised, Lydia had taken them to the outskirts of town and now the wolves were splitting into two teams. Scott and Malia were going to focus on the scent of the vampires while Isaac and Derek focussed of Antoinette's scent because they knew her better. Lydia and Stiles were going to follow each team and see where they ended up.

It was dark now but no one was worried, tonight was a full moon which meant the wolves would be firing on all cylinders. Tonight they were equally matched to their dead foes. Both scents took the teams a little further out of town but then back on themselves. It took all of about ten minutes until team death met up with team witch again. They found themselves outside an abandoned movie theatre which was crumbling to pieces and appeared to be on its last legs. Lydia recognised the place immediately.

"I was here yesterday, this is it; this is the nest."

Malia began to growl as Eldon came out of hiding. He dropped the bag he was holding and lunged, but Malia was already there and swiped a nasty gash across his side with her claws. She grabbed him by the throat and thrust him against Stiles' Jeep, her eyes gleaming blue. He hissed at her, short lived after she punched him in the face.

"The witch, where is she?"

"Dead" Eldon said firmly.

"Then what's with the take out you bleached corpse?" asked Stiles.

"Answer that" Malia squeezed his neck harder.

"You'll never live long enough to find her."

"We have that covered. What kills you?" asked Isaac.

When no answer came forth, he nodded to Malia who stabbed her claws into the vampire's body.

"Oak! English oak… or separate the heart from the body to immobilise us!"

"How many of you fangs are in there?"

"The entire nest, you can't take them all."

"We'll take our chances" said Derek before he punched into Eldon's chest and ripped out his heart.

Derek watched Eldon's eyes go a dull grey and ignored Stiles' cries of squeamishness as the body dropped to the floor.

"Stiles, stay here, Lydia, look after him. The rest of you come with me, we have a witch to rescue." Derek let his eyes flare up red as they all headed inside.

* * *

Things had gone from bad to worse for Antoinette. Axel had become impatient with her and went to see what progress she had made on the curse, only to find her working on a weapon. In a panic, impulse took over and she attacked him but he quickly overpowered her again. Now she found herself suspended from the ceiling the way she was when she first woke up. Axel had told Isidore of the incident to which he was apparently disappointed in her but handed all responsibility over to Axel. Something Axel was all too happy rubbing in Antoinette's face. Hello death's door. It was not all that bad; perhaps she would see her family again.

"I don't usually play with my food" said Axel. He grasped a bunch of her hair and yanked it to the side making her neck jerk and give a muffled cry. "But you royally pissed me off."

He took a long whiff of her skin; she squirmed but was held too tightly in place. He smelt her fear, it made his fangs tingle at the thought and he licked up her neck tasting the terror in her perspiration. She head-butted him, hard and he went reeling back probably seeing stars. He snarled at her but returned to his resolve and smiled to her.

"This is going to hurt" he whispered next to her ear callously.

A small whimper escaped her as he bared his fangs but it was soon overshadowed by the growling coming from behind Axel. Axel let Antoinette go and turned around to see two pairs of red eyes.

"Full moon you filthy fang" said Derek.

Axel leapt over to them and both wolves parted letting him crash into the wall. His arm swung around but Scott caught it and punched Axel square in the face snapping his fang. The vampire howled in pain, Derek did not give the vampire a chance to recover. He kicked Axel to the floor and allowed Scott to pounce over him and claw his heart out.

After they were satisfied that it was not going to get back up, they turned their attention to Antoinette. Derek pulled the cloth out of her mouth while Scott forced open the cold metal shackles and caught her as she fell.

"Are you alright?" Scott asked.

"I am now you lot are here" she replied.

"Did they hurt you?"

"Yes" she walked over to the table and gathered up a few of the books. "But I'll live."

Isaac and Malia ran down to join them, more like fell down.

"We need to get out of here now, they know we're here and they're coming" said Malia out of breath.

"Time to go" announced Derek.

Antoinette tipped the table over and kicked the legs off; handing four stakes to each of the wolves. "This table is English Oak. Idiots didn't even know, I read in one of these books about their weaknesses, this is one."

Fighting their way out was not going to be an easy task, the vampires blocked a majority of their paths and though coloured eyes fought fangs and stares, they were still nowhere near the exit. The corridor was full of them, Scott bounced off of the walls and plunged the stake into one hear. Another vampire jumped on Isaac from above while the others were bombarded. They were overrun and Antoinette began to feel dread, they might never get out. A high pitched scream came from the opposite end of the corridor, a shockwave sending a majority of the vampires hurtling away.

"Come on!" shouted Lydia, Stiles was with her.

The group did not argue, they sprinted through the theatre again. They all hit another snag when they reached the main lobby. A row of vampires blocked the doors of the exit, it seemed that they had all regrouped and now the entire nest was surrounding them; led by Isidore. It was pointless to ask Lydia to scream, even if she could take on some, it would not be enough.

"Give up, you're all going o die here" said Isidore with a laugh.

A protective circle had been formed around Antoinette and Stiles, the only two without a weapon or too weak to fight, no one backed down.

 _"_ _You know what you have to do."_

Time seemed to have frozen in that moment; it was just Antoinette and the White Witch.

 _Yes._

 _"_ _You're body isn't strong enough."_

 _I know._

"In have a plan" said Antoinette. The others regarded her while wearily waiting for sudden movements. "A spell can kill them all now, I can finish this here and now, the rest of you get out. Leave this to the White Witch and I."

"What?" exclaimed Derek; half turning to her. "No, stupid idea, there has to be another option."

"Sometimes the only choices we have are bad ones but we still have to choose."

Antoinette closed her eyes and Mademoiselle Socière Blanche opened them, her thick French accent shining through. "Go, now" she said.

"You better look after her, if Antoinette dies, I'll kill you" said Isaac.

She watched as the group dispersed, everything moved like lightning after that. Mademoiselle Socière Blanche flicked her hand at the vampires by the door and sent them smashing into opposite sides of the walls and the group darted out. More vampires tried to follow them but Mademoiselle Socière Blanche flicked her hand towards the door again and locked it. All eyes were on her and they closed in on her ever increasingly. She stared at Isidore dead in the eyes, malice on her face.

"Don't be foolish Miss Laveu, you know this will only end in tears."

"I'm not a Laveu you stupide bâtard."

Isidore curled his lips in utter disgust and revulsion. "Deveraux…"

"Tell the devil I said 'hey' when you get back to where you're from."

She spread her arms out wide and pointed her head up as far as it would go. "Solem in potestatem!"

It was her eyes to start glowing a blinding white first, but then suddenly the rest of her body followed suit and engulfed in it. Derek and the others watched from outside in horror as they saw the intense light and heard the screams of the vampires. An explosion of the same light blew the glass out of the doors and knocked the entire group back.

Isaac scrambled up in pure fear; Mademoiselle Socière Blanche could no longer be seen. "Antoinette!"


	20. The Glass Virgin

_**A/N: I am so so so sorry that this chapter has taken over a month to post! I've never written a scene like this before (like ever!) and I really wanted to make sure it wasn't cliche or just crass, I wanted it to be genuine and emotional. Oddly enough I had Daughter's song 'Touch' going through my head all while writing this because it had the feels I wanted to portray. I hope I managed that, please tell me what you think, all reviews welcomed. Enjoy!**_

Isaac ran for the old movie theatre, fires had started and were spreading fast. Scott grabbed him and held him back.

"No, the whole thing looks like it's about to collapse, it's too dangerous."

"But she hasn't come out yet, she'll die."

"I'll go back in" all eyes were now on Derek.

"Even for you, it's dangerous" replied Scott.

Derek shrugged nonchalantly. "She's part of my pack; that makes her my problem, right?"

He offered no other explanation and ran back into the burning building to find Antoinette. It was a blazing inferno, only getting worse; the room was filling with smoke and Derek was finding it hard to see anything let alone breathe. Sections of the old movie theatre were indeed collapsing, he was sure that the structure would give way soon. Although his red eyes cut through the smoke, he still could not see her anywhere in the lobby. He stopped and listened, there. He heard it. A steady heartbeat. Following it, he found Antoinette half buried under rubble and ceiling plaster that had fallen. Her unconscious body was lifeless and unmoving. Derek scooped up her limp frame and carried her in his arms as he exited the unstable building. The nervous onlookers sighed a breath of relief when they saw the pair of them. They all rushed over to them to make sure Antoinette was okay. She was a little dirty from the soot sticking to her clothes and skin but she was breathing and alive.

"I'm going to take her back to my loft where I can keep an eye on her recovery" said Derek as he headed for his car.

"You want us to come with you?" asked Malia.

"No, I'll be alright, I doubt she's going to be much trouble like this" he placed her in the passenger side of his car and clicked the belt in.

"I'm sure Isaac will no doubt be around early in the morning." He got in the driver's seat of the Camaro and drove off.

* * *

 _Antoinette was seven chapters into one of her favourite Hardy novels "Tess of the D'Ubervilles", sat by the fire of a chilly November evening. She both loved and hated this novel; she found it heart breaking how one event in her life had dictated the rest of it for the worst. But never had there been a truer story told for the time it was set._

 _She missed her father terribly, he was not due back until Christmas next year but she hoped he could get leave for her birthday. It was seven o'clock when the door knocked and she wondered why someone would want to talk that late in the evening. Upon opening the door, her stomach fell into knots, it was her father's commanding officer and he had something in his hand._

 _"Miss Antoinette Deveraux?" he asked in a gravelly voice. She nodded. "I'm sorry to report but your father was killed in action on a special ops mission. He was pronounced dead early this morning."_

 _Her heart shattered into a million pieces, her chest felt tight like it was being compressed. It was as if someone had taken a gun and shot a massive part of her away, it was excruciating._

 _The officer handed Antoinette her father's epaulets and medals he had earned. "I'm sorry for your loss; he was one of the best. If you need anything please don't hesitate to call us."_

 _He also handed her a card before saluting in honour of her father and leaving._

* * *

Waking up in the car was horrible, her entire body was stiff and her everything hurt and oh god she felt so weak, drained even. Antoinette moved her head off of the window and looked up to see the full moon. It was beautiful and calming, the trees rushed in a blur of the night. She looked to her left to find Derek driving the car and judging by the heavy atmosphere, he did not want to talk. Instead she traced her middle finger along the green leaf and petals of her rose tattoo.

The drive felt like an age in the thick silence and the thought that the only thing he could hear was her heart beat and breathing made her self- conscious. When they finally arrived outside Derek's building, she assumed she was being made to stay; perhaps she could go home later. Even the ascent was quiet, her legs felt like dropping off and she barely made it up without assistance. Her entire body was exhausted because of that spell, it did the trick though.

 _"You know he's pissed right?"_

 _I know I can feel it._

 _"Just remain calm."_

Entering the loft, Antoinette winced as she took off her jacket and dropped it on the sofa. The mental preparation for what was about to happen finally complete. Derek shut the door and then turned to her.

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

 _Here we go…_ "Not now please, I'm tired and injured and just want to go home."

"I don't care, answer the question."

She sighed. "What was what?"

"The stunt you pulled back at the movie theatre, letting the white bitch take control."

 _"Watch it red eyes."_

 _Shut up._

Anger rose within Antoinette and it bubbled over the edge. "I did what you wanted, I became your weapon; I saved all of you!"

"You could have died" she felt his own rage become more visible.

"Like you care, all you do is push me away or treat me like a threat."

"You have no idea what I've been through."

"I know a little bit, I know you trusted the wrong person and they killed your family."

She had struck a nerve and his eyes flashed as he stalked up to her in fury. "They're dead because of me, you have no idea what that's like."

Tears filled her eyes threatening to spill down her cheeks but she used her wrath to push them down. "Actually I do."

"How could you possibly know?" he spat the words out.

She could not take this anymore, she let go and burst. "Because my family are dead too, Derek! My mother, my father, my little brother; the curse killed them all. So yeah, I know what it's like to be the reason you're the only one breathing."

There was a moment of pause between them as he absorbed this new information but quickly returned to his previous stance. "Do you even care if you die?"

"I never have" she backed against a pillar in the middle of the room as he advanced threateningly. She refused to let fear take hold of her and kept the anger within.

"Why?" he asked and slammed his fist against the pillar. "You have a new family, Scott, Isaac, Lydia, the others. What else could you want? What do you not have to keep you here?"

She looked down, not wanting to say anything; she had given up.

"Answer me!"

"I don't have you!" and then there were the floodgates spilling over as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

 _"Whoops there it is."_

 _I said shut it._

His look softened at his surprise and she just looked defeated. "I don't have you Derek… I have feelings for you, I have since the time you told me about everyone in the woods." He said nothing. "And it hurts so badly because you never noticed and you don't care and every time I think we're getting closer or there's something between us you withdraw and close yourself off from me. You have no idea what it's like to love you… forever wondering if you feel the same."

Derek closed the space between them and held her face in his hands giving her the most earnest of kisses. Her body reacted immediately and she kissed him back; there was nothing left to hide. He pulled back but remained close and gazed into those mystic eyes, the spark behind them brighter than ever.

"Antoinette of course I noticed, your heartbeat gave it away every single time and I feel the same it's just more difficult for me. I told you before, everyone around me gets hurt."

"We'll work things out" she whispered and went to kiss him again but he stopped her.

"The full moon, you're already wounded, you could break."

"I think I've proved my resilience" she smiles. "Just let go" she whispered in his ear.

Antoinette brushed the tips of her fingers along the sides of his waist and something snapped within Derek as he let out a low growl. He pushed her against the pillar and slammed his lips into hers like his life depended on it, his lean body pinned her in place. He gripped a fistful of her hair while his other hand found her waist and he pulled her into him. She breathed out; her parted mouth allowed him entry as their mouths began the fight for dominance as her hands explored his abs under his shirt. Breaking contact, she pulled his top over his head and dropped it on the floor; he made quick work of removing hers too. The space between them closed again and in a fumble of clumsiness, that Derek found adorable, Antoinette managed to step out of her leggings without falling over. She smiled with her forehead against his, her heart pounding out of her chest.

He took a moment to look down at her, he liked the look of her underwear, and everything fit in just the right place. The stitches had not been ripped by some miracle but her arms and other parts of her body were scarred which made his heart sink. After he was removed of his jeans, he went straight for her neck. Her hand went to the back of his head as he peppered kisses and nips along her neck and collarbones; she let out a faint moan. His hands ran down her body, passed her waist and her hips; they gripped her thighs and she was hoisted up the pillar. Pinned there by his hips, Antoinette felt how hard he had become and bit her lip at the thought, her own desire growing.

There was a moment of pause, looking into each other's eyes as Derek traced the lace of her underwear before half ripping them off. After relieving himself of his own, he pushed himself into her in a swift movement and grabbed onto the pillar to support them both. Her legs tightened around this waist and she let out a cry of pain, he stopped and looked at her in alarm.

"What's wrong?" he asked his voice full of concern.

She looked down and shook her head, not managing to get the words out. Thankfully he seemed to know what she was struggling to say and looked mildly surprised.

"But you and Isaac…?"

"Are just friends" she looked up into his eyes.

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "We're going to do this properly."

He carried her over to his bed and gently laid her down. He kissed her lips deeply and began to kiss down her body stroking her sides as he did. He reached her thighs and the scratch of his scruff made her shudder. Moving his hand between her legs, he caressed her entrance making her bud sensitive and grow slick; there was the biting of the lip again. Continuing the arousal, Derek showered pecks up her skin in the delicate places and along her jawline making her groan under her breath. The stimulation to her senses was driving her crazy, he could feel it through the heat of her skin and uneven breathing; it made him hard just watching her struggle to remain in control of her inhibitions beneath him.

Positioning himself above her, he took hold of her right arm, ready to absorb any pain she would feel and grinded his erection against her passage. Antoinette looked up into his eyes, they were filled with lust, desire but also passion; this was actually happening.

"Are you sure you want this?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, definitely yes" she replied breathlessly, almost impatience showing through.

Derek kissed her deeply as he slowly slid into her most intimate area, inch by inch and watched her mouth curl into an 'O' shape as she inhaled heavily causing him to hold his own. There was no pain, only bliss; black veins snaked under Derek's skin and she exhaled with a small moan. He allowed her to adjust to his size before beginning movement, with his free hand he brushed the tips of his fingers up her slender abdomen and massaged her breast. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he picked up the pace with his thrusts, her nails raked down his back with desperation to have every part of him inside her. Her heart was pounding at a thousand beats per minute, barely any oxygen in her lungs and sweat making both bodies slippery with passion as they were connected in the most intimate way. Every manoeuvre he made every bite to her skin and every kiss to her lips, neck, collarbone even jawline, sent waves of pleasure reverberating through her core.

As inexperienced as she was, she could tell she was getting close to her peak; her insides were throbbing and so was he and it was not going to be held back for much longer. Derek could tell this of course, which only made him intensify the assault on her senses. It pushed her over the edge; the sight of her coming undone beneath him sent him over too. The pair of them climaxed with the closeness they both craved and Antoinette whipped her arm up into the air, finger splayed out slowly coming down to grab the head board as they rode the euphoria together. Derek continued to rock his hips into her while they came down gradually from their too addictive high. One last look of recognition between their eyes before he carefully rolled off of her, she shuddered as she felt him leaver her and she turned on her right side to look at him; completely out of breath. He tenderly swept her hair behind her ear and kept his hand on her cheek; she looked exhausted and god was she going to feel sore in the morning. She did not care; Antoinette put her hand on his wrist and closed her eyes into his palm, the togetherness she desired for so long.

"Was that okay? Did I do it right?" she asked.

He smiled at her silly question. "Of course it was, don't be stupid." He pulled her in to give her the softest of kisses to her lips before wrapping his arms around her, allowing her to sleep off the night.

"This is perfect" she whispered before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

The sun would be rising soon but he would not disturb her until she woke naturally.

"Extraordinary little rose" he breathed before drifting off himself.


	21. Telegram From London

_**A/N: Hey! So I literally have no excuse as to why this chapter took so long, apart from the fact I'm a lazy shit; it's been written for ages just haven't typed it up. Oh well, it is here now, enjoy!**_

Derek awoke a little before sunrise and slid out of bed so as not to wake Antoinette. He found his jeans somewhere in the loft and pulled them on before staring out of the window overlooking the town. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he did not notice Peter appear next to him at first.

"What do you want?"

Peter feigned innocence. "Can an uncle not visit his nephew?"

"No."

Peter shrugged and looked over at the sleeping Antoinette. "Never deflowered a witch before, what was that like?"

"Shut up" Derek snapped.

"Touchy, touchy. I would have thought you would be happier after getting some."

Derek turned to him, visibly vexed.

"Unless the reason you're awake is because you feel unsettled, what's wrong?"

Derek said nothing at first but eventually gave up and sighed. "It felt different."

"Different how?"

"Like emotionally."

"So you love her."

"No, it was deeper than that, like she's…" he trailed off.

"Like she was your mate" Peter said with a grin. "Oh this is simply precious, your intended mate is Sabrina the mentally deficient bitch, I mean witch." Derek shot him a red eyed glare. "I think the best thing is the fact she's not like us and has freedom of choice, I wouldn't tell her, you could scare her off. Talia said this would happen."

"What?" Derek looked at him suddenly interested.

"Talia knew you would be intended for someone who wasn't like us, but I don't even think she realised it would be a Deveraux witch. What are you going to do?"

"I will let her go."

"That would break her little heart."

"It's for the best."

"Who are you trying to convince? You finally have everything at your fingertips, power, a pack, love and you're willing to throw it away on the off chance she rejects you? That's sad."

Peter decided to take his leave thoroughly amused, leaving Derek to stir in his own thought for the rest of the night.

* * *

 _The burning irritation on the back of Antoinette's left hand did not override the emotional turmoil going on within her core. Her father's lieutenant and close friend was busy at work on the rose petals by her knuckles. Preparations had been made for her to leave England and she was just waiting on an email from her new landlord about a flat. Once she got word, she would buy a one way ticket and leave London behind her. She could not have chosen a further place to go, California in a little town called Beacon Hills._

 _Antoinette winced as the final touches of the needles went across the little bones of her hand. Her father had said she would get a tattoo over his dead body, the irony of that statement. No tattoo shops would work on her without parent or guardian's permission, but thankfully the lieutenant was more than willing to do that for her. Her father was a good man and the loss was substantial, not just for Antoinette._

 _"There you are" said the lieutenant as he began to wrap it up. "What do you think?"_

 _"I think it's beautiful and that my father would be turning in his grave" she smiled sadly, tears threatening to spill over._

 _A reassuring hand was placed on her shoulder and the mutual pain flashed in their eyes. "He was a good mentor to me, and you both welcomed me into you home many a time; this was the least I could do to thank you for that."_

 _She nodded._

 _"I am sorry to hear that you are leaving your life here in England but I am glad you're taking steps to make a fresh start."_

 _She looked up at him. "There's nothing left for me here."_

* * *

Sore did not cover what her body felt like, try excruciating; Antoinette winced with a slight groan a she sat up. Memories of last night flooded back to her and she smiled as her heart felt lighter. Derek stirred next to her and she lied back down, lying on her side to look at him. She stroked his hair to slowly bring him to and he opened those brilliant eyes to stare into hers. He took her hand and once again looked at the red rose tattoo gently caressing it with his thumb.

"I got it to represent my family, much like a rose life is temporary, a beautiful thing but temporary nonetheless. We must cherish its imperfections and beauty while it lasts."

"So that's what it means" he drained her pain and watched the ease spread across her face. "I'll have Isaac pick you up some clothes from your place, go have a shower" he withdrew from her and got out of bed.

Antoinette sat up confused, what had happened? Last night there were sparks, not just sparks, fire even and now it was like it never happened and her waking up in his bed next to him was like any ordinary day. She pushed it all to the back of her mind and pulled the sheet around herself as she walked into the bathroom.

Washing the blood and dirt from her skin, she wondered if this was how her father felt when coming back from a mission. The sheer relief of feeling clean was like spiritual healing. Her hand ran along the stitches on her side, at least two were loose and she was sure others had ripped.

 _"Your thoughts are damned noisy, are you okay?"_

 _Wondering what last night meant._

 _"You were noisy then too."_

 _Shut up_

 _"It's different for wolves; they still have instincts that humans don't."_

 _What are you talking about?_

 _"They still need to find a mate, someone that they stay true to."_

 _What are you saying?_

 _"That it might you and he's having a complex about it, wow you're blind."_

 _Shut up._

Isaac arrived and looked around the loft, he saw items of clothing strewn across the floor. He saw the sheets on the bed crumpled and messy, there was even the remnants of a passionate atmosphere from the night previous. He sauntered up to Derek, bag in hand and a grin on his face.

"This place smells like sex and regret."

"Shut up" Derek snapped.

"Just want to make sure she recovers huh? I've never slept with a witch before what's that like?"

"You're not the only one who wants to know. Did you know she was a virgin?"

"I had my suspicions but couldn't be sure."

"That makes this all the more difficult" Derek sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Derek looked at Isaac worriedly. "Derek?"

"IT appears I'm destined for her as my mate, someone who can choose soulmates."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not putting that kind of pressure on her, I'm going to have to stop it."

Isaac glared at him furiously. "No, you don't get to have last night and then ghost her; that makes her seem like a cheap one night stand" he stepped forward, threat in his voice. "If you hurt her, I will kill you." He dropped the bag on the table before spinning on his heels and marching out.

Antoinette came out of the bathroom in a towel shortly after Isaac had left. Even now she radiated intrigue and warmth, just like the smile she was giving him. One of those rare ones Derek had only seen her give Isaac or him. It only made his heart sink further into his chest at what he was going to do. He allowed her to change into the clothes Isaac had brought before looking at her seriously.

"Antoinette, listen about last night, we need to get a few things straight."

She looked at him like she was expecting this. "Was it not good for you?"

"That's not the issue here, I just hope you don't think this is going anywhere." Her eyebrows rose in surprise and then he saw hurt flood her eyes and hit her like a freight train, extinguishing the spark. "I'' see you at pack training and meetings" he continued.

Her palm connected to his cheek, he did not even see it coming. Tears streamed down her face. "How could you? How could you sleep with me, knowing you were my first, only to make me feel as easy as you have this morning? I am not a toy, I am not an object you can pick up and put down and use whenever you feel like it. I am a person! And I thought you cared for me the way I care about you. You think just because you're an alpha you can do that to me? Like it's your right? I don't know what changed from last night because I know that was real. Call me when you realise what you want." Antoinette gathered her things and stormed out of the loft before Derek could say anything to stop her.

That night she told the others everything, she told them about her family, she told them about Derek and about how he changed. Isaac looked like he wanted to rip Derek's throat out but Scott did not seem at all surprised and said that he would talk to Derek. But Antoinette did not want that, as much as she felt used and as much as the white witch was gloating; she had stopped caring. Or so she had told herself.

Thy were back to school the next day, so Lydia drove Antoinette home so that she could get an early night. The next day, Antoinette half expected to wake up to Isaac lying on top of the bed next to her; out of habit she left the balcony door unlocked in case he visited. It was going to be a hot day so she pulled on a pair of black shorts and grey tank top. The first day back was relatively standard, same shit, different day.

English with Malia and Scott was a bore, always was. It was not that the subject was boring or the texts but the teacher made paint drying look exciting. The day only got interesting the lesson before lunch. Economics with coach, Antoinette was called to the principal's office, she frowned but went anyway.

"Hello, Miss Deveraux" he began. "I'll get right to the point, as you know, the school is aware of your family situation. I got an email from England; it appears there are some matters there that would benefit from your attention."

She was in the office for the rest of the lesson and later joined her friends outside for lunch but Scott was not among them. "Where's Scott?" she asked.

"He got the feeling we were being watched, so he went to check it out" replied Stiles.

"What was the meeting all about?" asked Malia.

Antoinette shrugged and smiled "Just England wanting my attention again."

Lydia grabbed hold of Antoinette's wrist tightly and looked at her intensely. "A alive matter is aurae evil me."

"What?"

"A alive matter is aurae evil me."

"Lydia you're hurting me, let go."

"A alive matter is aurae evil me!" Lydia snapped out of her trance and let go of Antoinette's wrist. "I'm sorry I don't know what happened."

"Banshee thing maybe" Stiles offered.

"Almost definitely" said Malia.

When Antoinette got home, she was thoroughly tired and her wrist was sore; matched the rest of her body. There was a knock on her balcony door and she let out an exasperated sigh, she did not fancy a visit from Isaac tonight; she just wanted to be alone so she could rest in peace. To her surprise, Derek stood there looking quite forlorn. She sighed again before opening the door and let him in.

"I didn't expect to see you, that's for sure."

"Just because you don't see me, doesn't mean I'm not there" he replied.

She crossed her arms and closed herself off from him snf made sure there was space between them. "So it was you Scott sensed."

"I wanted to make sure your first day back went okay. But speaking of Scott" he stepped toward her but she stepped back shaking her head. "I know I hurt you Antoinette, Scott made that abundantly clear when he punched me in the face on behalf of Isaac."

"Wasn't like you didn't deserve it" she muttered.

"You're right I did, but when I told Scott why I did what I did, he suggested that I tell you or to just go with it."

"I'm not going with anything unless you explain."

"Antoinette please…"

"No, Derek you don't get to do that, come here acting all sorry and expected me to just forgive you without an explanation, I thought you liked me."

"It's because I like you that I don't want to tell you."

"Then you need to make a choice, tell me, or we keep it strictly plutonic as of now."

Derek sighed. "There's this thing that werewolves have, it goes back to our animalistic instincts. There is always that one special person that we devote ourselves to. Our mate; in human term, a soulmate. Antoinette you were right, last night was special because I realised you were my mate. I didn't want to put pressure on you and thought it best to let you decide for yourself but I was an idiot. It was me you let in last night, no one else." He took her hand. "I want to go with it, I want you now even if you realise I'm not your mate."

Antoinette did not know what to say, as far as acting like an arse goes, that was one hell of an apology and she could see now it was all just fear. Her arms flung around his neck. She kissed him deeply and was reluctant to pull back. They stared at each other for the longest time before she finally spoke.

"There's something you should know, the school received an email from England" she saw Derek's eyebrows rise in curiosity. "I must return to England to claim my family's heritage as they are aware I turned eighteen; which legally makes me able to inherit everything now."

"I'll come with you" Derek said.

"You don't have to."

"I want to."

She smiled but then it faded. "Right after I mentioned it to the others, Lydia went into banshee mode. She said 'a alive matter is aurae evil me' any idea what that means?"

Derek shrugged and shook his head, both clueless to the confusing ramblings of the banshee.


End file.
